If you’re mad as hell when your $299 flight comes with $200 in extra fees, then do something about it. Got sign the petition going to the U.S. Department of Transportation at MadAsHellAboutHiddenFees.com.
The Consumer Travel Alliance, the ASTA, and the Business Travel Coalition are organizing this drive together. The aim is that if the airlines are going to keep reaching into our pockets at every opportunity for things that used to be included in the ticket price, at least they can be honest about it instead of surprising us with these fees at a point where it’s too late to back out.
This is not asking a lot. If you’re going to gouge us with fuel surcharges, seat choice charges, baggage fees, or other nuisances that are pure profit, tell us up front whenever and wherever we would book the ticket.
The airlines are obviously content to be hated by their customers, but here’s a look at how bad the fee problem is from a survey conducted by the Consumer Travel Alliance.
* A nearly unanimous 99% of respondents said that they think airlines should be required to disclose all of their fees in advance on every web site that sells airline tickets.
* Two-thirds (66%) of respondents said they had been surprised at the airport by unexpected fees for things such as checking bags, requesting a seat assignment, getting extra legroom, or flying standby.
* Nearly two-thirds (65%) said such fees placed some or a great deal of unexpected financial strain on their budget for the trip, while more than a quarter (26%) said that those fees placed a great deal of unexpected strain.
* When asked to rank the fees they found most annoying, respondents rated carry-on baggage fees the most annoying, with 91% calling those fees “very annoying,” followed by seat reservation fees (88% very annoying), checked baggage fees (74%), and telephone reservation fees (67%).
If you only fly airlines that treat you well, then great, but sometimes that’s not possible since they are so few and far between. Go sign the petition to make your voice heard.
