Fare deal: Airlines plan to ground misleading ads

New Delhi: The ‘misleading’ advertising of airlines reading ‘highly-discounted’ fares, without divulging the fuel surcharge and taxes transparently, might soon give way to all-inclusive fares that reflects the actual cost to be paid by the consumer. To begin with, Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary SilkAir will advertise and display a consolidated air fare from January next year. Other carriers such as Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are likely to follow suit soon. JetLite has already started using all-inclusive fares for marketing purposes.
Though Singapore Airlines claims to be the first airline to do that on a global level, JetLite too, says that it is communicating the total fare to consumers, unlike other low-cost carriers. With zero-commission model set to kick off, other Indian carriers might follow suit, advertising and marketing all-inclusive fares, instead of clubbing it with taxes to avoid paying commission.
Though passenger forums have often dubbed the practice of communicating only base fares by airlines as ‘misleading’ and ‘unethical’, airline heads argue that it is a marketing tool and helps in a competitive industry. “It has not been an easy decision for us as the competition is fierce. However, going forward, advertising consolidated fare will become a trend,” said Foo Chai Woo, general manager of Singapore Airlines in India. Air India too says that there will be no need to market base fares and surcharges separately once travel agency commissions are scrapped.
28/08/08 Vishakha Talreja & Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2008