The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has started investigations into Trainline and Virgin Atlantic over potential “drip pricing” practices where travellers are not shown the total price upfront when making bookings.
The regulator announced the investigations on Wednesday (19 August) as part of its “wider clampdown on misleading pricing practices”, which include the separation of mandatory charges from headline prices to “falsely appear to be cheaper than a competitor”.
The CMA said that Trainline was being investigated over whether all mandatory fees have been included in its upfront prices displayed to consumers buying train and coach tickets on the company’s platforms.
“For train travel, the CMA observed transactions with fees ranging from £0.59 to £2.79. For coach bookings, it was a £1.50 booking fee. Both are costs that can add up for frequent travellers,” added the regulator in a statement.
The probe into Virgin Atlantic will not focus on flight prices but on whether mandatory hotel fees and local taxes are included in initial headline prices when consumers are buying a package including flights and accommodation. The CMA said these fees can “cost hundreds of pounds”.
The CMA added that the firms had previously been sent “advisory” letters in November 2025 warning them about their pricing practices, but the regulator “remains concerned about their pricing practices following ongoing monitoring”.
“The CMA is at the beginning of its investigations and has reached no conclusions about whether these firms have broken the law,” added the regulator. “If it finds there has been an infringement of the law, the CMA can order businesses to pay compensation to affected customers, as well as fining companies up to 10 per cent of global turnover.”
The initial investigations, which run until January 2027, will focus on information and evidence gathering.
A spokesperson for Trainline told BTN Europe: “Trainline is committed to offering customers a transparent booking experience with clear pricing and genuine value. We’ve proactively engaged with the CMA over several months and we are taking proactive steps to enhance how certain fees are presented to our customers. We will continue engaging with the CMA to address their questions.”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesman added: “Mandatory fees are indicated at multiple stages throughout the booking journey. We are reviewing the points raised by the CMA carefully and will co-operate fully with its investigation.”