Originally Posted by
YYC Guy
It's buried in the retail fare? Then, as I tried to point out, it is
not by definition a
"sur"charge.
If something's charged on top of the retail fare, it's a surcharge. If it's IN the retail fare, then it's, well, it IS the retail fare.
Ultimately if you agree that it's a numbers shell game, then I think you must agree with my basic premise (and therefore can't call me "Wrong"!
)
First of all, a "flow through" would be, by definition, a defined cost paid to an outside party, where the exact sum goes to that party (not Air Miles, not Westjet) for a specified item. That could legitimately be an AIF, or a customs inspection user fee. "Fuel surcharge", though, is airline revenue -- pure and simple. It's not paid directly to Shell or Esso. It's not a flow through.
Ultimately, though, I think you misunderstood me.
Air Miles does not "have" to pass on any tax or surcharge to their end customer. Flow-through or not. That's entirely their choice. And they've chosen to ding their customers hard. They don't have to charge a $25 service fee. That also is entirely their choice. They don't have to charge you separately for AIFs, or customs fees, or "fuel". Everything that they require their customer to pay is their choice -- nobody else's. If I book a flight using RBC Avion points, I pay $0 out of pocket. That's RBC's choice. If I book a flight on SPG Flights, I pay $0 out of pocket. That's Starwood's choice. If I book a flight on Air Miles, I need a to get a second mortgage. That's Air Mile's choice.
As for more than a $25 charge being legally constituted as "fraud", I'm not sure what legal basis that has. They could choose to charge a $1000 service fee on every booking if they wanted. But that would probably take them well past the "tipping point" (which arguably they're teetering on right now).
I'm just trying to explain how it works not whether it is ethical. It is a shell game, and it is a fuel surcharge, and it is a "fee" that gets passed-through on award tickets on both Aeroplan and AirMiles. Don't shoot the messenger; direct your consumer complaint to the Airlines and whatever responsible gov't agency.
It is a flow through from the perspective of Air Miles, it is a fee not covered by what they pay in the "award" amount - but that, of course, is how they've contractually arranged it with Air Canada and Westjet.
Yes, you are right - what AirMiles charges for an award, including any fees/taxes COULD be included in the award miles amount if they contractually arranged it with the airlines. However, we all know that businesses are in business to make a profit and any cost must be made up by a positive increase in revenue to retain the same amount of profitability. So, end result is that many more miles would be required for an award if there was zero net cost to the customer. So, while it is a shell game, there is little net financial benefit to ending it for the customer.
Oh, and I never said anything magic about $25 and fraud; $25 just happens to be the basic amount of the booking fee AirMiles charges - anything beyond that IS a flow-through (regardless if you like my definition or not).