Airline fees make it hard to shop for best deal

The Transportation Department is considering requiring airlines to disclose two ticket prices to passengers: a “full fare” with all mandatory charges like taxes, and “full fare-plus” with the extras.

Computer reservation systems used by travel agents and ticketing services are capable of providing clear information on fees that allows consumers to compare total trip prices. That hasn’t happened because airlines won’t supply the travel industry with fees, Kyle Moore, vice president of Sabre Holdings, which owns Travelocity, told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Ben Baldanza, president and CEO of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, acknowledged that his airline doesn’t provide ticketing services with fee information because he doesn’t want to be at a competitive disadvantage with other airlines whose prices might appear lower because they exclude the cost of extras.

Moore said there would be no such concern if all airlines were required to supply ticketing services with the information.

The vast majority of consumers buy tickets based on the lowest fare, witnesses told the committee. About half the airline tickets sold in the U.S. are bought through ticketing services.

The government charges a 7.5 percent excise tax on airline tickets to pay for the air traffic system. The IRS ruled last year that optional fees aren’t subject to the excise tax.

The report says the government could have raised $186 million last year if the checked bag fees alone had been taxed, an amount likely to grow as airlines charge more fees.