The U.S. Department of Transportation is cracking down hard on airlines' misleading advertising practices.
June 4, 2011- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has in two separate cases fined airlines for their deceptive advertising practices. On Thursday the DOT fined both US Airways, $45,000, and Continental Airlines, $120,000, for ads deemed deceptive with regard to ticket prices. Ray LaHood, DOT Secretary said in a statement “passengers have the right to know how much they will have to pay when they buy an airline ticket.”
With Continental Airlines the agency said that the Continental website did not include fuel surcharges as part of it listed fares. For example there was a fare from California to El Salvador in Central America that was for $298 on the first two screens but when the fuel charges was added on the third screen the price of the fare increased to $538. Continental said they responded immediately to the concerns the DOT had and the issue was addressed.
The DOT said that US Airways had an advertised fare in their website to Rome for $659 that included an asterisk saying there were additional fees and taxes but did not explain the amount of or type of taxes or fees. The two fines are what many people believe is the DOT’s attempt to put focus on their enforcement practices. This year the agency has fined, for a variety of different violations, 26 travel companies and airlines.
Fines were for operating unauthorized air transportation to failing to disclose code-share flights and all added to together there were over $3.3 million for the year.
With Continental Airlines the agency said that the Continental website did not include fuel surcharges as part of it listed fares. For example there was a fare from California to El Salvador in Central America that was for $298 on the first two screens but when the fuel charges was added on the third screen the price of the fare increased to $538. Continental said they responded immediately to the concerns the DOT had and the issue was addressed.
The DOT said that US Airways had an advertised fare in their website to Rome for $659 that included an asterisk saying there were additional fees and taxes but did not explain the amount of or type of taxes or fees. The two fines are what many people believe is the DOT’s attempt to put focus on their enforcement practices. This year the agency has fined, for a variety of different violations, 26 travel companies and airlines.
Fines were for operating unauthorized air transportation to failing to disclose code-share flights and all added to together there were over $3.3 million fines for the year.
