The Menendez Clear Airfares Act has been submitted to Congress. It is the latest attempt to bring some sanity to airfare pricing and how those airfares are presented to consumers. It is a good start and I’m sure will be improved in committee.
The Clear Airfares Act mandates that all fees and taxes be displayed for passengers before they go through the process of filling out their name, address, etc., credit card. It also instructs the airlines to justify any fuel surcharges and directly correlate that surcharge to fuel costs.
Not only is Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) focused on this issue again, but the computer system giants behind the airlines’ distribution systems are bringing together the technological advances necessary to make the new collection of ancillary fees being foisted on consumers more transparent.
The rapid growth of these airline fees has mushroomed as the airlines rush to create new ancillary revenue streams. “The rapid unbundling of air fares has led to a sort of anarchy,” according to David Jones, Amadeus, CEO.
We have the technology. Sabre and Amadeus, operators of two of the largest GDSs in the world have created systems to let passengers know the full price of flying from Point A to Point B, including all taxes and fees. Though some may quibble about small differences in taxes, based on how many legs a trip has, the basic outline of base airfare+fuel surcharges+reservation fee+baggage fees+seat fee can be shown to passengers today. The system just has not been implemented.
As this unbundling of airfares continues, what would serve consumers need the most would be a rule that would allow passengers to easily compare prices between air carriers.
The Consumer Travel Alliance is encouraging the implementation of a system that would create a baseline for airline advertising based on a basic basket of fare and services.
The alliance is proposing that the initial price listed in any display be the base airfare+any fuel surcharges+booking fee+check-in fee+one checked bag. This way, passengers can clearly compare prices between providers — an apples-to-apples approach.
Consumers would then be free to delete the charge for baggage should it not be needed or they could add any other fee such as seat reservation, meal or additional checked baggage.
Airline passengers need some regulation of the current “anarchy” in the airline pricing system. The Menendez legislation is a good start and with emerging technology, there is no reason why consumers can not be provided the basic total airfares to make informed decisions.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
