ITSA Files Comments Supporting Continued Full Pricing Disclosure in Advertising of Airline Fares

ITSA ALERT:  February 14, 2006

ITSA recently filed comments with the Department of Transportation urging continuation of rules requiring full disclosure of air fare pricing in advertising.  Submitted in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking that suggests four different options, ranging from keeping today's rules to doing away with them altogether, ITSA believes full disclosure is in the interests of consumers.  Apple-to-apples comparisons on prices is what consumers prefer, is most accurate and is simplest to do.  "Unbundling" of fares would lead to confusion for consumers because a range of different fare elements – taxes, fuel surcharges, insurance, labor, equipment and more – could be unbundled, and different airlines could do it different ways.  The result would require consumers to resort to calculators, and with different charges unbundled, apples-to-apples would be a thing of the past.