Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2012 New Airline Rules on Horizon

January of this month will mark some important changes in the way airlines and travel sellers display and advertise their fares. Effective January 26, airlines must disclose and include all taxes and fees in their advertised fares. You will not see "London for as low as $199..." anymore. The new Department of Transportation (DOT) rule is actually a double-edged sword. The full disclosure will make it plain and clear for instance that on international flights, the airport authorities, government, fuel surcharges and security fees add up to amounts that are far higher than the actual "base fare" that the airlines keep. Domestically, the total fare includes 20% of taxes and fees. Some airlines have legitimately complained that the full breakdown of taxes, service and ancillary fees are so many that the "fare ladder", where a ticket breakdown appears, does not have enough room to include up to 16 different taxes and user fees imposed by a variety of authorities and will actually create more confusion especially when tickets are exchanged. Additional rules on deck this month prevents airlines from retroactively increase ticket prices post-purchase. It also allows passengers to hold reservations without payment for 24 hours from time of booking. www.premieretravel.com