In yet another sign that the Transportation Department is serious about protecting the rights of consumers, the government this morning fined US Airways $40,000 for failing to disclose the full price consumers must pay for air transportation.
“When consumers shop for air travel, they have a right to know how much they will have to pay,” [...]
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surcharge
Resort fees. Mandatory tips. Concierge surcharges. If you’ve stayed at a hotel in the last few years, you’ve become accustomed — if not anesthetized — to these annoying extras. You expect them. You’re indifferent to them when they appear on your bill. You shouldn’t be.
It used to be so simple: The price you were quoted for an airline ticket, rental car or cruise used to be the price you actually paid.
Here’s a story about an airline doing the wrong thing, then the right thing, and then a confusing thing.
When Drew Tipton tried to add a few more days to his Avis rental, he expected to pay the daily rate. But wait, what’s this on the bill? A $10 rental extension fee?
Call it the “missed flight” penalty. Katerina Naumenko, a medical student in Grenada, had to shell out an extra $742 when she missed a connecting flight in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Leslie Kelley’s room rate at InterContinental’s Barclay New York was an astonishingly low $129 a night. Astonishing, because the published room rate is $329 a night. And astonishing, because of the extras the hotel allegedly tried to add to her bill to make up for some of the lost revenue.
Tired of being shocked by a barrage of fees and taxes on your hotel bill — everything from “resort” fees to taxes and convenience charges? Then you might want to travel abroad. John Humbach did, and learned that sometimes, the price your quoted for a hotel room can be the price you pay. To the penny.
The roundtrip airfare from Madison, Wis., to London is a reasonable $305 on American Airlines — until you add taxes, fees and fuel surcharges. Then it’s $691. Delta Air Lines charges $742. Wait, make that $942 after you add in all the mandatory extras. And Lufthansa? $580. I mean, $1,034.
If you’re under 25, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise when you check into the Oasis Cancun, a pyramid-like, all-inclusive resort on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula: a mandatory “under 25″ fee of $54. And they don’t take “no” for an answer. When Ryan Plaxsun, 24, recently checked into the hotel, he was told to pony up the cash — or leave.
When Larry Chan returns his Hertz rental car late, he doesn’t expect the $66 charge that he finds two weeks later on his credit card bill. But there it is: an extra day’s rental charge. What now? Should he appeal the decision? And what about the reason he was late in the first place — is that relevant at all?
What will the airlines start charging us for next? After you read this, you’ll be sorry you asked. Nigel Appleby’s daughter recently got a survey from WestJet which offers some clues about the Canadian carrier’s next move. It’s troubling, to say the least.
Airlines apparently aren’t the only ones incapable of quoting a total fare. Cruise lines can’t give us a straight price, either. You’ve probably heard about their fuel surcharges and their new steak fees. But have you tried to book a floating vacation recently?
Airlines have started charging $15 for your first checked bag. Here are three clever ways to avoid this extra surcharge for your luggage.
Energy prices may be falling, but airline fuel surcharges are holding steady — if not rising.
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