Monday, January 16, 2012

It's (AIRFARE) Jungle out There...

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is about to implement the equivalent of the "truth serum" to advertised airfares effective January 26. Despite objections from airlines who wanted to delay the effective date, DOT will require advertised fares to include all taxes, fees and surcharges. You are unlikely to see a $9 fare that used to be advertised by Spirit Airlines that came with a plethora of fees and required an "annual membership". Will the new rules solve the fare confusion? Yes and no... Yes, because many of the deceptive practices of advertising, such as an ultra low-cost fare with fine prints and lots of ifs and buts,surcharges, fuel surcharges, taxes and fees that could turn a $99 fare to London to over $700 will be gone. No, because the algorithms of search engines will then be re-calibrated to come up with itineraries that don't make sense that provide "lowest fares" but are designed to attract web traffic to certain websites. For example, the search may yield the lowest fares between origin and destination that have more than one long layover stop, may require overnight stay at a hotel, or sending the traveler through a circus-like route to his/her destination. It might be on carriers that don't actually operate the routes. These tactics are bound to make the search for low fares ever more complicated and you have to carefully weigh all the costs and the time elapsed for flights before you make an informed decision. The jungle rule will apply even more after the DOT starts enforcement. www.premieretravel.com