tomboy

In looking for deals on airfares, this question tickled my curiousity? I've always assumed it's sort of a "loss leader" concept, but maybe military or diplomats or someone doesn't pay such costs. Otherwise, why wouldn't the airlines quote the full cost from the get-go?

lincasanova

why?

marketing.

no laws prohibitting this form of baiting.

pricing lately is getting to be a joke and annoying, especially now with the credit card fees per LEG OF TICKET, not per transaction.

book 5 people on same reservation RT somewhere.. you get 10 credit card fee add-ons.

kerouac

Airlines can waive certain fees, but they must always pay the taxes to the appropriate authorities, except for very specific exemptions -- like less than 24 hours transit in an intermediate country, or things like Saudi Arabia not collecting the security fees from pilgrims going to Mecca (after all, if anything happens, they go straight to heaven).

Diplomats, military and such have special discounts on the fares but must usually pay the taxes.

In France, it has become obligatory to advertise all ticket fares taxes included. The problem is that the amount of the taxes changes every day. Every country sets the tax in its own currency (or in USD or EUR) and, depending on where you are, the exchange rate makes the amount fluctuate every day.

hetismij

In Holland it is also now compulsory to show the full price of tickets, so including the taxes and fees.
This has upset a few "price-cutting"Airlines - suddenly their fares are no longer quite so competitve.

Carrybean

I don't see that it's baiting. In the US, sales taxes are add-ons. At least this way you know how much the government is ripping you off & won't blame the airlines for the higher fares.

lincasanova

the rip off is not the TAXES, but the FEES they add on with the low cost and most other airlines.

booking fee.. credit card fee..

"call us on the phone" fee..
unreal.
but that´s how it is.

Sue_xx_yy

Don't mind the taxes separated out but the so-called 'fuel surcharge' bugs me.

Somebody in government must have been bugged about it too, because AC announced a couple months ago that the fuel surcharge would now be 'included' in North American fares.

It's still in effect on international flights - and it's often 30 per cent - or more - of the so-called 'base fare.'

Then there's the 'half-round-trip' business....grrrrrrr.

Carrybean

I'll agree about the fees but the taxes, such as the latest huge add-on by the UK government is a true rip-off.

CRAZY4TRAVEL

I agree with Sue...taxes are taxes but the fuel surcharge at more than 200.00 on a ticket from Halifax to Toulouse really bugs me. I think they should have to include those types of fees in the cost of the ticket before advertising.

Dukey

"Otherwise, why wouldn't the airlines quote the full cost from the get-go?"

IMO, because they want you to look at THEIR fares and look at flying with THEM before you look at anyone else.

Is there anyone out there who has flown within the last couple of years who DOESN'T know there will be "taxes and fees" added on?

And as to those "rip off" governemtn taxes...when someone GETS something from the government and those taxes were used to pay for it those people become amazingly mute about the "rip offs."

Padraig

Most of the amounts charged as "taxes" are not true taxes in the sense of money taken by government. In some cases the government takes nothing at all (that applies in Ireland, for example).

It is money taken by the airline to pay for such things as
1. passenger processing charges imposed by airports (usually a per-capita fee), landing charges (averaged out over the number of passengers expected to travel)
2. charges imposed by the airlines themselves, and part of the airlines' revenue streams
3. taxes, if they apply.

kerouac

In most countries, all of the taxes and other charges ("airport improvement fee" etc.) used to be included in the ticket fare. One of the reasons that they were removed was due to the war between airlines and travel agencies. Since commissions, incentive commissions and other goodies were based on the ticket fare, removing the taxes from the ticket fare lowered the value of the transaction and saved the airlines a bundle.