Ascend: Airlines Play Cat and Mouse Game with Customers

Airlines are playing a game of "cat and mouse" with customers, in terms of the hidden charges they are levying on flights, one expert has said this week.

Chief economist at aviation information consultancy Ascend, Peter Morris, made the claim, adding that these extra costs are adding an "element of unpredictability" in booking flights, which in turn has led to resentment amongst customers.

Peter Morris responded to claims by Ryanair that they are charging customers more to check-in because an increasing number of passengers wish to complete this process online.

He said: "It's basically a cost trade-off measure by trying to force a larger number of people to self-handle.

"Much of what's being done is the unbundling of services so that if you want service A or service B you now have to pay for it, whereas in the case of the more traditional network carriers, many of these things are swept up into the total price."

He added that this system can annoy people as at regular intervals in the booking process they find themselves liable for another add-on fee, which they hadn't anticipated.

Last month, Ryanair announced that it was increasing the check-in charges per passenger from £3 to £4 and also upping the cost of putting a bag in the hold from £6 to £8.

Travel Industry News posted on 16/05/2008 08:03:39