Improved consumer protection rules in the US will require airlines to disclose ancillary fee charges.
The measure was welcomed by the Business Travel Coalition which called for the fee information to be in the same electronic and transactable formats used to publish air fares themselves.
BTC applauded US transportation secretary Ray LaHood for requiring airlines to disclose ancillary fee information such as checked baggage charges and airport ticketing fees at all points of sale for the more than half of consumers who purchase their tickets through the travel agencies.
Until now, travellers often do not see extra fees until well into the shopping process, or after the purchase, and sometimes not even until they arrive at the airport, BTC argued.
Coalition chairman Kevin Mitchell said: “For two and one-half years, despite major corporations’ substantial collective purchasing power and their continuing calls for fee transparency, airlines have refused to provide TMCs with this vital information.
“This only adds to evidence of a market failure. What’s more, because of US federal pre-emption in the aviation sector, consumers have virtually no access to protections afforded by state consumer protection laws.”
Chris Nicholas, sales vice-president of CI Travel and a member of Open Allies For Airfare Transparency, said: “The consumer, including corporate travel departments, needs to have comparison shopping of all-in airfares enabled once again after a two and one-half year hiatus during which time consumers were financially harmed.
“To solve this problem, the travel agency channel needs ancillary fee information in a transactable format at all points of sale where consumers shop and where airlines choose to sell their tickets.
“We thank secretary LaHood for his strong pro-consumer stance and vision for a set of airline consumer protections that will move the airline industry closer to other industries in this critical area.”