New EU rules on air ticket price advertisements

Passengers will now see fully-inclusive air ticket prices in newspaper adverts and on airline websites.

Travel Insurance News - 03/11/2008

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New regulations have been introduced by the EU following complaints from airline passengers that some carriers were advertising misleading prices that did not include charges and taxes that were eventually added to the price of a ticket.

With the new regulations in place, the fully-inclusive ticket price will be the first price an airline customer sees.

The changes in advertising regulations are a result of a 15-country study in which the European Commission looked at practices on websites and in newspaper advertisements that it regarded as unfair and misleading to consumers.

What it found was that over half of the airlines in the EU displayed prices and used contract terms that were confusing to customers. If an airline fails to comply with the newly-issued regulations, it will face prosecution.

According to the new rules, if a carrier advertises an airfare of £1, that will be the maximum they will be allowed to charge.

Airlines will still be permitted, however, to add whatever "avoidable charges" they feel necessary, and these charges will likely be different for each carrier.

<< Royal Caribbean sees slowdown in future bookings | Travel News | Singapore Airlines reducing fuel surcharges >>