Airline Ads aren't fare

[JohnK]

Another airline!

AIRLINE ADS AREN'T FARE
by Jeremy Maggs
16 June 2006




South African Airways (SAA) has been forced to withdraw an e-mail and Internet advertising campaign because of misleading fare claims. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) says the campaign offers airfares without explaining that additional taxes could double the advertised price.

The ruling comes as the ASA is talking to the Association of SA Travel Agents about advertising of airfares and holidays.

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[JohnK]

A deal to take your breath away, fine print to put it back

Here is an older article from LA Times. We have talked about it so much but I cannot wait for the day when wysiwyg with airfares. This is clearly false advertising, should be more fines like Air NZ, yet technicalities allow the practice to continue.

A deal to take your breath away, fine print to put it back

The airfare ad seems to present a great bargain, but the tiny disclaimer listing fees and taxes tells the true story.
March 20 2005

"LAX to JFK from $99!" "London from $215!"

Just kidding.

That $99 one-way fare recently advertised in newspapers by Delta's Song carrier was really $109. British Airways' $215 fare was available only as half of an LAX-London round trip totaling $543.

To find out how these fares grew, you need to forage among nearly unreadable fine print at the bottom of airline ads. Lurking there are taxes and fees. Even if you plow through it all, you probably won't be able to calculate the true total.

This is common practice in the industry.

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[Yada Yada]

I'm certainly no advertising expert but you'd think that QF could gain some good publicity by promoting all-inclusive fares - e.g. "our advertised fares are all you have to pay - no additional taxes or surcharges..." etc. People want to know what the real cost is. I think they do themselves a disservice they way it is currently done. And it drags down their website bandwidth because people like me have to go 90% of the way through the online booking engine to check a price.