Tue, Jun 07, 2011
Airfare Searches Online Did Not Include Taxes And Fees
The DOT has assessed a civil penalty against TACA International
Airlines for violating the Department’s rules prohibiting
deceptive advertising of airfares. The company was assessed a
$55,000 civil penalty.
“Consumers have a right to know the full price they will
be paying for air fares,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood said. “We established airline price advertising
rules to protect the consumer and will take enforcement action when
these rules are violated.”
DOT requires any advertising that includes a price for air
transportation to state the full price to be paid by the
consumer. The only exception, which will end on Oct. 24 due
to a recently adopted DOT rule, is for government-imposed taxes and
fees that are assessed on a per-passenger basis, such as passenger
facility charges. If these taxes and fees are listed
separately, the first mention in an advertisement of a fare must
clearly disclose that the price does not include these charges and
list their amounts. For Internet listings, these taxes and fees may
be disclosed through a prominent link next to the stated fare that
notes that taxes and fees are extra, and takes viewers directly to
a location where the type and amount of the charges is
displayed. The rules apply to both U.S. and foreign carriers
as well as ticket agents.
For a period of time in 2010 and this year, TACA used a program
on its website that allowed consumers to search for flights on
exact or flexible dates. Searches by both methods produced airfare
quotes noting that the fares did not include taxes and fees, but
TACA failed to disclose the type and amount of the taxes and fees
as required by DOT rules.
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