Sabre, one of the big central reservation systems that power travel agencies, has been working hard in Washington and every day with the airlines to get ancillary fees disclosed so that they can be compared across airlines by consumers before passengers purchase their tickets to travel. Now they are reaching out directly to consumers.
This is Sabre’s latest outreach to consumers — Let the Market Fly. Sabre is asking consumers to file comments directly to the docket of the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection to let their voices be heard.
Here is the Sabre pitch. Expect more of this kind of outreach directly to consumers because airlines still don’t get it. Well, maybe they do. Airlines understand that when they make the full prices to travel more difficult to figure out, the more they can get away with and the more they can charge.
What they don’t get is that consumers want to know how much their airline tickets are going to cost and that consumers are tired of being nickel and dimed by fee after fee after fee.
Passengers are crying out, pleading with airlines, “Please tell us how much our travel will cost.” Passenger after passenger asks, “What is so difficult about being honest and refraining from deceptive practices?” and “Why can’t you be on our side? We are your customers.”
The video above demonstrates how much extra fees permeate the airline world. Times are desperate for consumers and getting worse. Airlines are unrelenting with their added fees. Soon airfares will be $1, with everything else listed as an extra fee.
- Had enough with hidden airline fees?
- See below to learn how you can tell the Department of Transportation how you feel!
Airline fees for services like checked baggage, seating and priority boarding have become an ever-growing piece of the total cost of air travel. Consumers deserve transparency into the total cost of air travel wherever airlines choose to sell their tickets. However, some airlines are shrouding their true total ticket prices, making informed comparison shopping difficult if not impossible. Without transparency, consumers inevitably pay the price.
Tell the Department of Transportation you want the ability to see, compare and buy the essential parts of the travel experience wherever airlines choose to sell their tickets. Without this consumer protection, fees will stay hidden and travelers risk paying more and being deprived of the information needed to make informed purchase decisions.
You can share your feedback now with the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection, which advises DOT on regulations. In November, when DOT is expected to release proposed consumer protections involving fee transparency, you’ll have the opportunity to share your comments with DOT directly.
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.
