Originally Posted by
Land-of-Miles
The whole issue of stealth fees which are unavoidable but which slightly reduce advertised headline rates are very familiar in the European LCC Airline market, which this property seems to emulate.
And which have been deemed deceptive in Europe and are no longer a practice (you did say "unavoidable fees").
The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC which came into force on 27 December 2007, has introduced important provisions on how pre-contractual information shall be provided to consumers.
Price is one of the key parts to which the concept of misleading information, produced either by the information provided or by the omission of the necessary information, would apply. Obligations regarding the final "all inclusive" price information are also clearly stated in the Directive.
The new Regulation on Air Services (EC) No 1008/2008 entered into force on 1st November 2008. The Air Service Regulation provides clear
rules on the obligations for the travel industry to provide an "all-inclusive" final price at the beginning of the booking process, a breakdown of the final "all inclusive" price which is to include the fare or rate, the taxes, the airport charges and other charges and a clear distinction between unavoidable and optional charges. The Regulation also prescribes how this information must be presented to consumers: for instance,
optional charges must be offered in an "opt-in basis".
These rules apply to fares and rates published on the Internet. Airlines and tour operators selling airline tickets for air services departing from an EU airport are under the obligation to comply with these provisions since 1st November 2008.