Ryanair to Show Full Fare Prices Up Front
From 1 June this year, budget airline Ryanair will show the full, all-inclusive cost of its cheap flights on its website for the first time, following a hard-fought agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
On this date, Ryanair will come into line with rival cheap flights carriers such as Monarch, easyJet and bmibaby – all of which have already made the alteration to their websites. For its part, Leeds-based cheap fares airline Jet2.com will start displaying the full prices up front from 28 April.
The CAA said that it was pleased with the outcome of the negotiations, adding that it had been working fruitfully with the carriers to ensure that all compulsory fees, charges and taxes were clearly displayed for the benefit of customers booking cheap flights online. A CAA spokesperson also said that this was part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that airlines operating from airports in the UK had a transparent pricing policy in place.
The CAA went on to say that carriers such as British Airways, bmi, Virgin and others were all complying with this policy.
The authority's group director of regulatory policy Iain Osborne commented: "The difference between the price holidaymakers might see when they first search for a flight and the lowest price actually available can be £100 or more for a family of four. Consumers should be presented with clear information about the price of their flight throughout the booking process, so they can make fair comparisons between different airlines."
Mr Osborne went on to recommend that until all airlines have the transparency policy in place, customers should use the CAA's Top Tips for Tickets when booking online, which includes shopping around for the cheapest flights and ensuring that the prices on the screen are the final price charged before committing to payment.
Travel Industry News posted by 
on 19 March 2011
