News: EU gets tough on misleading fares

Flights > News > # 1357 (12/07/2007)

The European Union has approved new laws to prevent airlines advertising cheap fares without mentioning extra compulsory charges.
Under the new rules, which still have to be approved by national transport ministers, all taxes, fees and surcharges must be included, so that prices can be easily compared, the draft regulation says. It is hoped the law will get final approval by next summer.
Low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Flybe, whose headline fares are often lower than the taxes charged on their flights, are likely to be most affected.
Lithuanian MEP Arunas Degutis, who has been instrumental in pushing the regulation through the European parliament, said: "Airline passengers must be treated like other consumers and thus have a right to clear and full information of the price they finally pay.”