The OFT warned airlines
in February that they must change their pricing and online order
systems to quote consumers the actual cost of flying and not the
cost minus non-optional fees such as taxes and surcharges.
The Office has now taken action against 13 airlines which have
now changed their policies, it said. Those airlines include
easyJet, bmibaby and Globespan.
Irish carriers Aer Lingus and Ryanair both said that they could
not change their online booking systems immediately, but promised
to do so and have changed their website home pages to reflect the
full cost of flying.
The success of no-frills low cost airlines such as Ryanair has
prompted fierce competition in the airline industry. Combined with
the direct booking model made possible by the internet, the
competition has driven airlines to advertise lower and lower
prices, with fares appearing to fall as low as one penny.
Consumers have found, though, that airport charges, airline
surcharges, taxes and fuel levies have pushed fares far higher than
the advertised sums. The OFT became involved because these charges
are not optional and should therefore be considered part of the
price. It can obtain court orders against traders it believes
engage in misleading pricing.
"The OFT is committed to ensure that consumers are not mislead
by advertised prices that bear little relation to actual prices,"
said Sean Williams, executive director of the OFT. "Misleading
pricing not only undermines consumer confidence but also distorts
competition and we will enforce the law enthusiastically where we
find that consumers have been misled."
Trade body the Association of British Travel Agents has also
taken action against its members. The ABTA Code of Conduct, which
is binding on its members, requires that all fixed, non-optional
costs be included in a price.
The OFT said that the following airlines have changed their
websites to include fixed, non-optional costs in pricing: easyJet,
bmibaby, Flybe, Thomsonfly, flythomascook (a trading name of Thomas
Cook Tour Operations Limited), Monarch, Jet2, Globespan, Wizz Air,
Sky Europe and German Wings.
