Prompt action from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has forced 13 airlines to change their advertisements and websites to include all fixed, non-optional costs such as taxes, in prices.
In a busy week for the OFT that fined British Airways a record ”121.5m ($246.3m) for its role in fuel surcharges, the department says that easyJet, bmibaby, Flybe, Thomsonfly, flythomascook, Monarch, Jet2, Globespan, Wizz Air, Sky Europe and Germanwings, have all complied with its website ruling, while a further two, Aer Lingus and Ryanair, will do so shortly.
The Irish duo say that technical issues with their websites have contributed to the delays, but the OFT appears satisfied that they will comply.
And in a combined move, ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents), says that it has also taken action, including fines, against members who have equally not adhered to its Code of Conduct concerning misleading pricing.
OFT executive director, Sean Williams, said: ”The OFT is committed to ensure that consumers are not misled by advertised prices that bear little relation to actual prices. Misleading pricing not only undermines consumer confidence but also distorts competition and we will enforce the law enthusiastically where we find that consumers have been misled.”