You know where the powers in the nation's capital are when big time lobby descends on Capitol Hill and muscles it's way with Congress to enact the cynically named "Transparent Airfares Act of 2014". The purpose of this act is to supplant and void the accomplishments of the Department of Transportation (DOT) that mandated that airlines and travel companies must advertise airfares inclusive of all taxes and fees.
Now the powerful Airlines for America (A4A), the patriotically named lobby group, wants to undo the transparency of an all-in fare by unbundling the components of the total fare to base fare (that's what airlines prefer to advertise) in order to "educate" the consumer how much taxes they are paying, and then letting the traveler know the final cost at the very end of the transaction. A4A convinced Congress that advertising the base fare is a form of travel stimulus! While we agree that taxes on air travel are very high and about to get even higher, consumers are savvy and smart enough to see the breakdown of the full fare which includes all taxes. This development is certainly a setback for the traveler.
Now the powerful Airlines for America (A4A), the patriotically named lobby group, wants to undo the transparency of an all-in fare by unbundling the components of the total fare to base fare (that's what airlines prefer to advertise) in order to "educate" the consumer how much taxes they are paying, and then letting the traveler know the final cost at the very end of the transaction. A4A convinced Congress that advertising the base fare is a form of travel stimulus! While we agree that taxes on air travel are very high and about to get even higher, consumers are savvy and smart enough to see the breakdown of the full fare which includes all taxes. This development is certainly a setback for the traveler.
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