Air passengers complain about hidden charges

Chennai: Air travellers are getting increasingly frustrated by airlines’ advertising tactics, claiming that airlines are misleading them about the costs of flying by imposing hidden charges on tickets.
While it has now become commonplace for airlines to advertise fares as low as Rs.50 in the face of increasing competition, in reality, passengers discover that they have to end up paying as much as Rs.2,000 as a result of a number of surcharges and taxes that are imposed just before they book their tickets.
Passengers say that this form of advertising is misleading. It also makes it harder for them to compare fares across different airlines as surcharges can vary in how they are listed. “What airlines do is include a number of additional charges in the fine print,” says D. Sudhakara Reddy, President, Air Passengers’ Association of India.
Last week, the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) hauled up two national carriers for misleadingly categorising fuel and congestion charges as taxes.
02/01/08 Ananth Krishnan/The Hindu

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2008