5 ms·

I think we need legislation that mandates transparency in fees across most if not all products. Not including taxes and fees in the listed price is detrimental

I think we need legislation that mandates transparency in fees across most if not all products. Not including taxes and fees in the listed price is detrimental to consumers.

acomjean 3y ago
They are trying. Not surprisingly there is pushback from airlines (and other businesses..) https://wapo.st/47cBuSJ https://wapo.st/47cBuSJ
tempsy 3y ago
Obama passed a law that forced airlines to show the final price (fees + taxes) in the list price, so it's been like that for many years now. Before that it was much more like hotels where you're not shown the final price until the last step.
- judge2020 3y ago
  How do they estimate taxes? Based on IP until you change your address?
  - tempsy 3y ago
    Taxes are fully determined by departing and arriving airports. They don't need your IP.
- godelski 3y ago
  Great. Now is the consumer allowed to compare prices in a meaningful way? Let's say I visit the site, close my browser, clear my cache and cookies, and then navigate to the site again. Should the price change?
  - tempsy 3y ago
    Not sure what you're implying. Why would the price change in that situation.
    - thedaly 3y ago
      Sites used to book travel, ie airfare, hotels, etc, are notorious for changing price based on your perceived interest. I've noticed this myself when I look at a hotel listing multiple times, the price tends to creep up.
      - tempsy 3y ago
        Hotels maybe, but airfare is not going to change because you're in incognito or clear a browser. I rarely see any price differences between an Expedia and booking direct. If an airline was messing with prices based on something with your computer you would be see frequent large differences in prices between direct bookings and third party bookings, which I've never seen before.
    - godelski 3y ago
      > Why would the price change in that situation. That's a great question! The reason many of us are upset. Because it shouldn't, but it does. Not always, but it does. Now this is black box probing so may be another factor, but the prices do swing quickly.
      - pxx 3y ago
        Stop spreading these lies. This cannot be done on any major airline (one large enough to be on a GDS). Airline pricing may be complicated but the way fares are constructed is public. You may be witnessing: * An ota changing their markups (which immediately asks the question "why are you paying the markup") * Differing currency conversions and fares if you're changing the country you're issuing from (but this will reset itself once you actually try to pay) * Fare class availability (somebody might have just bought the last ticket at that price) If what you are claiming is true, there'd be far more evidence for it, and ITA Matrix (and hell, OTAs) wouldn't exist as a product. Given how well this is documented, it almost seems like you're disingenuously trying to sell VPN products (especially with your name-drop of a specific product)
        godelski 3y ago
esoterica 3y ago
All the major airlines I’ve used show the prices including mandatory fees and taxes up front. The only things not included are optional add ons like extra bags.

I think we need legislation that mandates transparency in fees across most if not all products. Not including taxes and fees in the listed price is detrimental to consumers.

acomjean 3y ago

They are trying. Not surprisingly there is pushback from airlines (and other businesses..) https://wapo.st/47cBuSJ https://wapo.st/47cBuSJ

tempsy 3y ago

Obama passed a law that forced airlines to show the final price (fees + taxes) in the list price, so it's been like that for many years now. Before that it was much more like hotels where you're not shown the final price until the last step.

judge2020 3y ago
How do they estimate taxes? Based on IP until you change your address?
- tempsy 3y ago
  Taxes are fully determined by departing and arriving airports. They don't need your IP.
godelski 3y ago
Great. Now is the consumer allowed to compare prices in a meaningful way? Let's say I visit the site, close my browser, clear my cache and cookies, and then navigate to the site again. Should the price change?
- tempsy 3y ago
  Not sure what you're implying. Why would the price change in that situation.
  - thedaly 3y ago
    Sites used to book travel, ie airfare, hotels, etc, are notorious for changing price based on your perceived interest. I've noticed this myself when I look at a hotel listing multiple times, the price tends to creep up.
    - tempsy 3y ago
      Hotels maybe, but airfare is not going to change because you're in incognito or clear a browser. I rarely see any price differences between an Expedia and booking direct. If an airline was messing with prices based on something with your computer you would be see frequent large differences in prices between direct bookings and third party bookings, which I've never seen before.
  - godelski 3y ago
    > Why would the price change in that situation. That's a great question! The reason many of us are upset. Because it shouldn't, but it does. Not always, but it does. Now this is black box probing so may be another factor, but the prices do swing quickly.
    - pxx 3y ago
      Stop spreading these lies. This cannot be done on any major airline (one large enough to be on a GDS). Airline pricing may be complicated but the way fares are constructed is public. You may be witnessing: * An ota changing their markups (which immediately asks the question "why are you paying the markup") * Differing currency conversions and fares if you're changing the country you're issuing from (but this will reset itself once you actually try to pay) * Fare class availability (somebody might have just bought the last ticket at that price) If what you are claiming is true, there'd be far more evidence for it, and ITA Matrix (and hell, OTAs) wouldn't exist as a product. Given how well this is documented, it almost seems like you're disingenuously trying to sell VPN products (especially with your name-drop of a specific product)
      - godelski 3y ago

esoterica 3y ago

All the major airlines I’ve used show the prices including mandatory fees and taxes up front. The only things not included are optional add ons like extra bags.