Europe String

Annoying Airline Add-ons

by Jacy Meyer on July 18th, 2008

You know how it is when you see that excellent within your budget Internet airfare to Europe in the newspaper, a magazine or online and you instantly morph into holiday mode - already mentally packing your suitcase and thumbing through the guidebook. Then reality comes crashing down when you actually attempt to book that fab fare and it comes out to be double, or even more than the advertised price. By the time you add in the airport fees and a gas tax and a baggage charge and a payment fee and a why not, we can charge and who knows what else, the quoted price is not even in the ballpark of the advertised fare.

In Europe, budget airlines seem to be guilty of these misleading practices more so than their full-service brethren and the European Commission has stepped in to do something about it. By the end of the year, all advertised fares will be required to include all charges, fees and taxes - and this includes fuel and security charges. Special add-ons, like travel insurance, don’t need to be included but must clearly state that they are optional. The new rules have been approved by all 27 member states. The EC reports that last year they found more than 100 airline sites with misleading fares and they say one in three Europeans have been misled by prices they found online.

Let’s hear it for truth in advertising!

Photo Credit: Nutmeg@Flickr

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POSTED IN: NEWS, Transportation in Europe