FED-up travellers have vented their frustrations about hidden airline fees as part of a new campaign hoping to provoke change in the industry.
Three US travel advocacy groups: the Business Travel Coalition, the American Society of Travel Agents and Consumer Travel Alliance have joined together to create a new website, MadAsHellAboutHiddenFees.com.
The site encourages travellers to vent about situations where they feel they’ve been ripped off or surprised by extra fees as part of a push to make airline pricing more transparent.
“(Travellers) are tired of arriving at the airport and finding huge unexpected costs for travel services they thought were part of the ticket price,” Kevin Mitchell, Chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, said.
Common passenger gripes include being hit up for advanced seating, extra baggage and wanting more legroom.
Traveller Paul, from New York, said he was shocked when he was hit with extra charges while booking discounted airline tickets online.
"I first joined the $9 fee club from Spirit Airlines for the cost of $39 in order to receive a discounted fare," Paul said.
"Just as I was about to submit my payment information I was prompted to the seat selection screen and to my dismay I discovered there was a hidden charge of $85 and 10 minutes to choose a seat.
"Needless to say I am miffed and I think this is an unfair practice."
Passengers aren't the only ones frustrated by the fees, with travel agents complaining airlines are making it difficult for them to compare ticket prices.
“For a travel agent, comparing air travel costs without fee transparency is like trying to read a book with half the pages torn out,” Paul Ruden, Senior Vice President of Legal and Industry Affairs for the American Society of Travel Agents, said.
To coincide with the launch of their website the groups conducted a survey of nearly 1400 travellers, finding that two-thirds of respondents had been surprised at the airport by unexpected fees and 99 per cent want airline to disclose all of their fees on all sites selling their tickets.
They are also calling for people to sign a petition which will be taken to US Government, as well as participate in a “Mad as hell” day on September 23.
Having received more than 1300 signatures in the first three days, it has clearly hit a nerve.
Meanwhile consumer watchdog Choice says that hidden airline fees are also a problem in Australia and while things are improving, travellers still need to be mindful.
“These website do give another channel for people to push for change but it’s no substitute for transparency when you’re buying tickets,” Choice’s media spokesperson Christopher Zinn said.
“There are issues with Australian airlines charging extra fees. Tiger Airlines is a good example of this with their different luggage charges, for example they charge $60 for sports gear while it would be free with other airlines.
"We have also complained about things such as credit card fees – Qantas' $7.50 credit card surcharge is high in regard to per passenger charges.
“All these extra fees add up.”
A recent study by Flight Centre found that travellers who fly on budget airlines may end up paying more than if they’d chosen a full-service airline due to the increasing number of extra charges, which can easily triple the cost of a ticket.
“In many cases, travellers will have to pay extra for services they require or have traditionally come to expect. Families, for example, may need to pay extra for assigned seats, checked luggage and in-flight refreshments or entertainment," Flight Centre Limited Marketing Manager Colin Bowman said.
“Together, these ancillary charges can dwarf the cost of the actual air ticket and make it difficult for travellers to understand exactly what they are getting for their money when they compare the various airlines’ offerings."
Flight Centre's analysis shows that a no frills $28.95 one-way fare from Melbourne to Adelaide on low cost carrier Tiger ends up being comparable to a $95 Qantas fare on the same route when factoring in commonly requested "extras".
Link here:
http://www.news.com.au/travel/ne ... rfq80-1225926741227

its not uncommon, in europe cheap companies like ryan air has cheap flights but once you add in the cost of luggage and if you don't fall under the weight limit, you may as well went with a regular airline like British Airways and even earn some frequent flyer points

It was only after a trip through the states last year that I really appreciated the quality of Asia-based airlines. I'm generalising, of course, airlines such as Singapore and Thai are in a different league to America-based ones, with European- and Australian-based airlines somewhere in between.

I found the American-based airlines to fully encapsulate the term - "greed is good". Where Singapore provides free meals and unlimited drinks on all their filghts, American wanted to charge me $6 US for a can of coke. The quality of staff (both in terms of skill and in terms of their looks ) were chalk and cheese.

Having said that, it is really up to the individual to do some research - easy now with the internet. These are not really hidden fees, just ones that are added to the initial fee. When this happens, the individual should have enough common sense to shop around. The dude who joined a $9 club for $39 is just an idiot!

Don't forget the "15% tip" hidden fee. You have to follow the ridiculous U.S. custom of tipping everyone for doing their job no matter how poorly delivered.


Not an idiot, just niave, we've all been there.

Congratulations by the way on reaching KKing.

Thanks atomic!

I guess you're right. Air travel has become so complicated now - back in the old days it pretty much had to be organised by travel agents. Now, with the internet, we can all do it ourselves. Add all the budget airlines and so many different classes and tiers (Economy, Premium Economy, etc...) booking a flight can be a nightmare. If you are not aware, you can easy be caught out!

Think Tiger Airways really suck and are crooked. Took the airline three times and they charge for everything. Apart from the tax, they include a so called connivence fee for booking online, a lot extra for luggage and expensive for allocated front row seat, extras for sports equipment. What is really horrid that when you book the flight in Singapore and pay with a credit card in a currency apart from Singapore Dollars, they would suggest you settle in Singapore Dollars at a rate set by Tiger which is 5-8% more than what the credit card company would charge you. This is absurd but that's why Tiger Airlines share price has been a good performer in the Singapore Stock Exchange.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 21-9-2010 12:10 ]

which US based airline has a 15% tip?  I am not aware of this

airlines are full of idiots in the sky. however there are some good employees but it seems like they are out numbered by the

dumb ones. i find it interesting when that jet blue flight attendant jumped off the plane in new york he became a hero over

night. then the truth comes out that he was very belligerent. all i hope is one day we all can say one to beam up. i hope i

will live to see the day when star trek technology becomes a reality.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/airplane

Tiger Airways is the epitome of nickle-and-dime absurdity.

I was going from SFO to Sydney and decided to go to Melbourne first.  So instead of going to Melbourne directly on UA, which would have cost me an extra $200US per person, I decided to go on the cheap and take one of those Tiger Airways Sydney to Melbourne flights that cost about $90AUD round trip per person.

But wait - I can't do web checkin for myself because I have a couple of carry-on bags - I have to check in at the gate.  Ok, fine.  Of course, there was the option to purchase a seat assignment - $10 to $18 per person.  Who the fuck ever heard of purchasing a seat number?  So what happens - I check in the other 2 people - then I realize - shit, if they got checked in, I'm probably going to get screwed and sit way in the back since I won't be able to check in for another 15 hours.  So I call up Tiger and pay for the $10 seat just to be able to sit in the next row from my 2 other passengers.  I also said fuck it, I'm going to pay the extra $30 to sit together coming back as well.  $40 eaten right there.

Well being that I was coming directly from the US, obviously I had an extra big bag - yep $120AUD for excess baggage.  I said fuck that, I went over to baggage storage, where it cost me $50AUD to store.  Good thing I brought my computer-generated boarding pass for my other 2 passengers - the person in front of me didn't - extra $25 per ticket right there just so they could print out on a small piece of paper your seating assignment.  Then I realized that my one carry-on that I was allowed to take on was over 7.5kg.  Oops, another $35 - back to luggage storage again to dump more shit off.

Then I get on the plane and I see a menu - not a single person brought anything from the menu.  $7 for a fucking bottle of water?  No drinks, no anything for the flight.  I would have gone to the bathroom, excpet that I was afraid that they would charge for toilet usage.

Oh, and then the capper that pissed me off the most - Tiger is notorious for being a stickler for having the passengers be on time - so what happens - the fucking return flight is delayed 2 hours, with zero explanation.  I will never ever fly that airline again - I don't care if they have their 6 cents sale or 1 cent sale or whatever.

Priceline can be a ripoff as well because of their opaqueness.

Last year I got a price of $60 for a Las Vegas 4 star hotel - Green Valley Ranch.  Very nice place, definitely worth a lot more than that.  But then there was the hidden $25 resort fee - even though I specifically asked for no resort hotels.  Turns out 80% of the big hotels in Las Vegas charge a resort fee.  $25 per night is on the high end.

Why Priceline doesn't simply use $85 as the basis for this hotel is a ripoff on their end.