Consumers paid more than $9.2 billion in fees to U.S. airlines in 2010 for checked baggage and other services, but these fees were hidden from most travelers when they purchased their airline tickets, because the airlines refuse to share their fee information with travel agents and other distributors, according to a new study by the Consumer Travel Alliance (CTA), a non-profit organization promoting consumer interests on travel policy issues.
Information on extra (or ancillary) fees, which are not visible to the more than half of consumers who use third parties to book their travel, was the focus of an analysis of major U.S. airlines’ year-end financial reports by CTA, in coordination with Open Allies for Airfare Transparency, a coalition representing hundreds of companies in the managed travel community.
On average, passengers paid a total of $36.80 in fees for every round trip ticket—nearly $150 for a family of four, the study found.
Last fall, more than 60,000 travelers signed a petition sponsored by CTA and the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) that called on the federal government to put an end to hidden fees, and thousands of them shared their hidden fee stories. Marc in New Jersey wrote: “This is a non-transparent and dishonest way of making it appear as if the cost of the flight is lower than it ACTUALLY is.” Pat in Arizona wrote: “In all fairness to air travelers, all fees should be disclosed so consumers can make the best choices among airlines to travel.”
This study, the first to look at how the hidden fees imposed by major U.S. airlines have impacted the cost of air travel in 2010, was based on fourth-quarter 2010 earnings releases from the nation’s eight largest airlines as well as data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. For more information, visit www.consumertravelalliance.org.
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