President Barack Obama has announced plans to try to stop credit card companies from advertising misleading deal rates. Maybe if he really wants bipartisan support, he can take on misleading travel ads, too.
Here’s a few suggestions:
• Require airlines to only advertise one-way rates that can be purchased on a one-way basis. Or simply to advertise roundtrip fares.
• Require fares to be advertised including tax and surcharges. This is a particular problem with international tickets, where the fuel surcharges and other fees can more than double the price of the ticket.
• Require cruise lines also to advertise prices including taxes and surcharges. Ditto tour operators, especially when they advertise “free” or discounted air with their tours.
While cruises and tours are generally advertised on a per person double occupancy basis, hotels are generally priced per room, but not always. Which is always particularly annoying when clients find that out.
There are a few other issues that are less egregious but still annoying. Like fine print that no one over the age of 40 can read. Cruise ads for a series of cruises, but only one at the advertised price. This last is particularly common with Alaska sailings, where the deal might be only for the first or last of the season.
Also frustrating are fare sales starting at a low price, which is actually good for only two nearby cities. United Airlines recently ran an ad for a first-class fare sale, starting at $189. Not only was it for one way based on a roundtrip, the cities at the $189 fare were less than 500 miles apart. A United reservations agent told me she had had several unhappy callers the first day the ad ran.
And no doubt I have left many other misleading travel ads out. Feel free to add more in comments. We can dream anyway. And you never know, maybe our new president might decide it’s one thing he could do and have both Democrats and Republicans agree with him.
