Be seated: turbulence ahead

[oz_mark]

Be seated: turbulence ahead - News - Travel - theage.com.au

Flying has never been cheaper, but that is coming at a cost. The arrival of Tiger Airways in Australia has accelerated the commodification of every part of the air travel experience, with a range of unexpected new charges. This has attracted the scrutiny of governments, with Victoria launching an inquiry into the practices of the low-cost airline industry, following passenger strandings by both Jetstar and Tiger.

A bit that has been discussed here (emphasis mine)

Tiger's excess charges range from $11/kg for short routes to $33/kg for long routes (Melbourne to Perth and Darwin). However, while its online booking process offers the option of "upsizing" checked luggage, starting at $30 for an extra 5kg (20kg total), it does not reveal the per-kilogram excess charges that may be levied at the airport.

Tiger's charges have not yet been tested in a consumer tribunal or court of law, but travel law specialist Tony Cordato, of Sydney's Cordato Partners, believes there are problems. Customers are entitled to know when they're booking a ticket the exact details of all charges that may be levied, he says. As they stand, Tiger's conditions of carriage in relation to excess baggage are "misleading, defective and legally unenforceable", he says.

 

[rwatts]

Customers are entitled to know when they're booking a ticket the exact details of all charges that may be levied, he says. As they stand, Tiger's conditions of carriage in relation to excess baggage are "misleading, defective and legally unenforceable", he says.

On the other hand, the terms of the contract are clear - Tiger will carry (eventually) the passenger and X kg of luggage for Y cost.

When the customer turns at checking with Z kg (where Z > X) then they are not forced to pay anything. They are quite free to leave Z-X kg behind at the airport and not pay any excess charge.

That might be harsh and unfair but probably legally sound. Now if the airline said nothing at checkin and then refused to hand over the baggage at destination until some previously undisclosed rate of excess was paid then that would be dodgy.

Next we'll have people turning up at checkin with an extra passenger complaining when they have to pay the full fare for them rather than the $39 fare they paid on the internet.

Richard.

 

[oz_mark]

That might be harsh and unfair but probably legally sound. Now if the airline said nothing at checkin and then refused to hand over the baggage at destination until some previously undisclosed rate of excess was paid then that would be dodgy.

As noted in the article some of these things have not been tested in court. But I would have thought that full disclosure of fees at the time the customer accepts the terms of contract would be a fundamental right. Not finding out later when they could be charged anything Tiger feels like on the day.

 

[rwatts]

As noted in the article some of these things have not been tested in court. But I would have thought that full disclosure of fees at the time the customer accepts the terms of contract would be a fundamental right. Not finding out later when they could be charged anything Tiger feels like on the day.

But the contract was for baggage upto the limit and the fees for that were fully disclosed.

The customer is then negotiating another contract for the excess baggage and is told of the cost before accepting the terms.

Its up to governments to enact statutory law where common law does not sufficiently protect consumers from what can be seen as unfair but legal practices. In the RPT industry Australia seems to lag behind many other countries.

Richard.

 

[JohnK]

Tiger's charges have not yet been tested in a consumer tribunal or court of law, but travel law specialist Tony Cordato, of Sydney's Cordato Partners, believes there are problems. Customers are entitled to know when they're booking a ticket the exact details of all charges that may be levied, he says. As they stand, Tiger's conditions of carriage in relation to excess baggage are "misleading, defective and legally unenforceable", he says.

To be fair to LCCs I do not remember when making a booking with QF or BA where during the booking process I was advised how much any potential excess baggage charges will cost me.

 

[oz_mark]

Maybe not during the process, but excess baggage charges are readily available on the QF site.

Flying with Us - Before You Travel - Baggage - Additional Collection

 

[JohnK]

Maybe not during the process, but excess baggage charges are readily available on the QF site.

I should have mentioned that I knew where I could find excess baggage charges on both the QF and BA websites but is that the point? Someone who is not so good navigating websites but is able to book a QF flight does not have this information displayed to them during the booking process.

I think it comes down to the fact that you need to search very hard on some LCC websites to find the baggage allowance and no mention is made of the actual excess charge anywhere on their website.

 

[serfty]

There is mention of the charge on the Tiger web site; just no actual specifics to what the rate(s) is(are).

• TIGER - Does Tiger tear up letters?

  ... these rates may be changed or varied at any time and from time to time and will be available from us upon request and are available at our check-in counters ...

I think it's deliberate, perhaps the agents have a $ quota they must reach for each flight and up the check in rate if they are not reaching it?

 

[rwatts]

Do you think that people who know they need to take excess baggage and have checked (unsuccessfully) to find the information on the LCC websites are necessarily the people complaining when being hit with big charges ?

I suspect most are people who have no idea how much their suitcase weighs or just turn up at the airport knowing their bags are over-weight but thinking it will either be overlooked or just cost a few dollars. On QF and other legacy carriers they would possibly be right.

I found a slightly different wording on the Tiger site under http://www.tigerairways.com.au/travel_info/checked_baggage.php

Any excess over 15kg for non-upsize passengers and 20kg, 25kg or 30kg for upsize passengers depending on the option chosen; will be charged per kilo at the prevailing rates in the common currency of the departure airport. Charges vary depending on the market, more information is available upon request at the airport.

Richard

 

[serfty]

The bit I quoted was section 9.6 from here:

• Conditions of Carriage