Airlines always advertise a low price to get your attention, but when you add on all the required taxes and surcharges, the price often jumps up significantly. I wish airlines and other travel providers like rental car companies would advertise complete prices. That way, the price you see is the price you pay.
When British Airways advertised $219 to London including two nights hotel, MrConsumer thought it would interesting to see what the real total price would be. The actual price of the roundtrip using the advertised fare came to $551.77. Why?
*MOUSE PRINT: The advertised fare is “o/w based on r/t purchase. Taxes and fees extra.” [Banner ad at Bestfares.com June 22, 2006; shown actual size]
Somehow it doesn’t seem like a bargain any longer. How did they arrive at that higher fare?
The $219 advertised fare doesn’t seem to bear any relationship to the $308 actual roundtrip fare shown above. And, the fees, charges, and surcharges of almost $250 account for almost half the price of the ticket.
Now there’s another part to the offer: get two nights free in a London hotel.
*MOUSE PRINT: “**Based on double occupancy.”
What is not disclosed upfront is buried in the mouse print online: if you are flying solo to London, “Single occupants are entitled to 1 free hotel night only.”Â
So to get the advertised offer of two free hotel nights, two people have to go and spend $1103.54 to fly to London. That’s over five times the eye-catching $219 advertised price. The airlines would contend, if they advertised the real price, as shown below, no one would click. I wonder why?Â
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Advertising lies. Always.
I *hate* “one-way based on round-trip fare.” That’s a price that no product they are selling actually costs. It’s completely fictional.
What is the percentage of people who ever fly o/w out of country and don’t return? Problably .00000000001685165161%
I wish I had someone to make up double occupancy but I dont. I am a widow and these people remind me everyday.
having done computer repair work for several travel agencies, and also doing the “Research and sales” of one, I can tell you that this has been the standard since at least(and probly much longer) the early 90’s, It is also the method used on most everything else, noone ever adds the Taxes (it’s not there charge weither airfare, food, clothes, drugs, autos, toys, LONG DISTANCE PROVIDERS, PHONE SERVICE, VONAGE and other VOIPS(now), ETC….) also above does not mention other things, Like the fact you need a Passport (can take months to apply, or as short as 1 month[shorter with extra cost]) a VISA (nope not a credit card) and you either need a Torist visa, student visa(not for a weekend in a hotel), or a work visa, it doesn’t tell you about how much the conversion of fund from american curency to british pounds is, or how much the food will cost either!!!!
P.S. if you book months ahead you can get a better rate!
P.P.S. if you are going overseas to get a spouse (such as all of those dating services) you may even get a cheaper rate than the cheapest airline fare!!!!)
Special note, if you don’t know how to do all of this yourself, you may actually save money by going thru a “Travel agent” who knows all of this info, and books overseas flights!!!!!!!!!
It’s not the ‘taxes’ I object to their not including; everyone knows (almost) everything is taxed.
As the story points out, it’s undisclosed fees, charges and surcharges that most inflate the total…and that IS being deliberately deceptive.
Same goes for the phone company–basic service is $35–but when you get the bill, surcharges and access fees inflate the total by 30% or more.