Twelve airlines flying from the UK have decided to include their debit card charges in their headline prices, following a recommendation from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), a UK government department.
The new pricing policy will mean that the airlines will include their card charges, which will be displayed along with their headline prices, when visitors to online booking websites are searching for a flight.
The twelve airlines that will be offering this service are Aer Lingus, Bmibaby, Eastern Airways, Easyjet, Flybe, Germanwings, Jet2, Lufthansa, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Thomson (TUI) and Wizzair.
Monarch Airlines scrapped their debit card charges totally in 2011, and Flybe followed suit from March 2012, and now the other airlines will be disclosing their debit card charges as guests commence their online flight bookings.
The OFT has reported that Eastern Airways, Easyjet, Flybe, Germanwings, Lufthansa, Thomas Cook, Thomson and Wizzair, have already made changes to their existing pricing structures, others will be making those changes shortly.
Clive Maxwell, the chief executive officer for the OFT, said, ‘This is a great outcome for the millions of people who buy flights online. It is important that the cost presented when they search for a flight is realistic and that they are not surprised by extra charges. Otherwise it is harder for them to shop around for the best deal.
Because of our enforcement action, most airlines have already made their headline prices and other payment charges easier to understand by changing their systems and processes. The rest will complete changes in the coming months. We made it clear from the start that we would use all of our enforcement powers, including court action if necessary, but are pleased to have reached agreement with the airlines before court proceedings were required.’
