The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Forget airline extras – just treat us like humans
So-called ‘drip pricing’ can be confusing, but that isn’t the main problem facing air passengers, says Nick Trend
There has been some kerfuffle this week around the issue of air fares and whether or not consumers are being misled because of “drip-pricing” – whereby expensive extras are added during the booking process, so that we end up paying much more than we first thought when buying online. Action to prevent this was supposedly to be announced in the King’s Speech. In the end, airfares were not mentioned and the single reference to tackling drip pricing was “subject to consultation”.
So, I wonder if the Government is beginning to realise just how complicated this issue is and how difficult it is to get the legislative balance right. There is no doubt that the current system can be deeply irritating – what looks like a bargain fare can easily more than double if you decide you want to check in baggage or carry a larger bag on board. Equally, there is no doubt that it was developed by the airlines to try to make their lead-in fares as cheap as possible.
Twenty years ago, the idea that we would have to pay extra to be sure of sitting next to our travelling companion would have been laughable. But no-frills airlines – especially on short haul routes – have become more and more adept at working out what we are prepared to pay for. Optional extras now range from choosing our seat, different sizes of luggage, and on-board meals, to extra legroom, priority boarding and so on.
But they are still optional. Those who want to travel light and don’t mind a middle seat can find some very cheap fares. We also mustn’t forget that, though airfares are rising strongly at the moment, we are still paying far less for our flights in real terms compared with 20 or 30 years ago – even when you allow for extra luggage charges.
Fundamentally, from the consumer’s point of view, the problem lies in the eternal tension between the benefits of having enough choice but not so much that it leads to confusion. Complicated price structures make it hard to compare fares, undermine competition and, overall, risk pushing prices higher.
In fact, if you look at the airlines’ own booking sites, what is included in the fare and how much the extras will cost are generally perfectly clear. But if you are going to make meaningful comparisons with other airlines, you do have to go through at least part of the booking process before you know the final fare. And that takes a bit of work.
All that said, there are definitely some distortions in the way extras are priced. Something feels wrong when the fare for your suitcase costs more than your own seat, something that often happens with cheaper fares. For example, when I checked an easyJet fare to Amsterdam in December, the base cost was £59.91 with no extras except a small cabin bag. The additional cost of checking in a 23kg bag was £73.46.
And what you might call “deterrent pricing” has also gone too far. I can understand, for example, why airlines want to encourage us to check-in online and print or download our boarding passes before we travel. But Ryanair’s £55 fee for airport check-in, or £20 for re-printing a boarding card, feels more like a mean-spirited penalty. The same is true for its £115-£160 charge for changing the name on your ticket.
But ultimately, pricing issues are – I think – relatively manageable. The main problem with airlines today is the way they treat the customers who have already booked. My current pet hate is a new tendency to call passengers from the lounge seats in order to board, only to herd us onto the air bridge and leave us standing in a crowd until the plane is actually ready. More broadly, Which? cites a litany of other issues especially around shoddy customer service and a lack of assistance in the wake of cancellations and delays.
As fares and profits rise again after the pandemic, it’s time that airlines shifted their focus back to the people they depend most on – the passengers.