Travel companies should change their pricing. TravelMole Comment by Jeremy Skidmore

It’s time for law abiding travel companies to bite the bullet and start advertising flight prices exclusive of taxes and charges on their websites.

For years they’ve bleated about rival companies who have indulged in such practices, claiming they are misleading consumers and gaining an unfair advantage over competitors. It has got them absolutely nowhere. Why?

Because the evidence suggests that consumers couldn’t care less.

Six months ago, I wrote about a concerted campaign to get companies to toe the line on website pricing.

The Consumer Protection Act of 1987 prohibits a business giving a misleading price indication. Bruce Treloar, principal trading standards officer for the travel industry, was particularly unhappy about companies offering prices without taxes and seemed to be on a personal crusade to clean up the industry.

He joined forces with the Office of Fair Trading, the Air Transport Users’ Council, the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services and the Advertising Standards Authority to produce a new guidance paper detailing the legal requirements for the sale of flights on websites.

As an example of what it considered to be illegal, the TSI quoted from Ryanair’s website, citing a campaign which said a million seats were available from 99p. In fact, a typical final price, after taxes and charges were added, was more than £30 return.

The OFT seemed keen to clamp down on the practice but pointed out that it could only act if it received complaints.

In the past six months the OFT has had precisely six complaints, which it is considering. Hardly a deluge and my spies tell me not to expect a law change on this less-than-burning consumer issue.

Ryanair says it has no problem with offering all-inclusive prices on its website if all its competitors follow suit, but it is not prepared to be disadvantaged by doing it on its own. Who can blame the airline?

EasyJet said it has taken 60 million bookings since 1998, with 97% coming over the Internet and so far not a single person has complained about misleading pricing. Small wonder it isn’t going to change.

The Air Transport Users’ Council will shortly publish a report on the issue calling on companies to stop advertising prices exclusive of tax.

It’s likely to fall on deaf ears.

So now it’s time for travel companies, who are concerned about losing business to rivals which appear at first glance to be offering cheaper prices, to do the same thing themselves.

If they pride themselves on customer service, they have nothing to worry about – people don’t care. And there’s no doubt the cheaper fares will attract more people on to their websites.

If, by chance, people do start complaining, the OFT will be forced to take action and travel companies will get their original wish for everyone to show all-inclusive prices on their sites. Job done.

It may sound as though they are “playing dirty” but what option is there? If you can’t beat them, join them.

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