The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), in an effort to address the…
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), in an effort to address the traveling public’s need to know the price of air transportation and air carriers’ needs for flexibility in advertising, asked for comment on whether it should modify its rules on airline price advertising. Among other issues raised, DOT asked the public whether it should allow airlines to separate carrier-imposed charges, such as fuel surcharges, from the advertised fare in its consumer advertising, a move requested by an airline association but previously denied by DOT. The notice, published in Federal Register, outlines four options the Department will consider.
The Department’s proposal follows a request by the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) that airlines be allowed to list fuel surcharges separately from the advertised fare, which would not be allowed under the current rules requiring that the advertised price for air transportation must be the entire price to be paid by the customer. The Department decided to seek public comment on ATA’s request as well as possible alternate revisions to the price advertising rules, which were adopted 21 years ago.
DOT has a long-standing enforcement policy that allows carriers to list only government-imposed taxes, fees and other charges separately from the listed fare, and only as long as these charges are collected on a per-passenger basis, are not based on a percentage of the ticket price, and are clearly displayed in the advertisement.
The Department asked for comment on the following options:
- maintain the current practice, with or without revising the rule to formally adopt the exception for government-imposed taxes and fees
- strictly enforce the rules as written, ending the exception for government taxes and fees
- eliminate most requirements for airfare ads, but require airlines to tell passengers the full price to be paid before they buy a ticket
- eliminate fare-advertising rules altogether
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
