05 November 2009

Do you want extras with that fare?

SINGAPORE Ã¢â¬' When TravelMole booked a flight from Phuket to Singapore this week, for travel in 10 daysÃ¢â¬â¢ time, we noted AirAsiaÃ¢â¬â¢s web page boast of Ã¢â¬ÅâœNo Admin Fees- Pay Fare+Airport Tax onlyÃ¢â¬~.

Sure, there were the usual ancillary fees and taxes added to the base fare of 1,160 Thai baht (US$35)

There was a THB 700 airport tax, THB 463 for 20kg of checked luggage, standard seat charge of THB 50 and an optional THB 90 for insurance.

There was also a charge of THB 603 for what AirAsia calls Services and Fees, and another THB 50 Ã¢â¬ÅâœConvenienceÃ¢â¬~ Fee for electronic payment, adding up to a total fare of THB 2513 (US$75).

There was no Admin fee mentioned, so presumably AirAsia doesnÃ¢â¬â¢t have one - or maybe the airline just calls it a Service and Convenience fee and hope no one notices.

Interestingly, Tiger Airways, flying the same route on the same day, has a lead-in fare of just THB 50 (US$1.50) but it doesnÃ¢â¬â¢t take long for extra charges to ratchet up that figure to an amount very nearly identical to that being charged by AirAsia.

In fairness to AirAsia, at least its lead-in fare bore some (slight) resemblance to the final amount charged after all the menu add-ons.

Here at TravelMole we wonder how long it will be before hotels go down this path.

Imagine the conversation at reception...

Sir, you've been charged $100 for your room - that's our early bookers rate?

Would you require a shower? That's an extra $10.

Hot water? That's an extra five dollars?

Sheets on your bed? Our daily special rate is just $15

Towels? Merely $5 per towel.

But hold on a second....this hotel pricing strategy has already arrived.

It's called Tune Hotels and by all accounts they're doing very nicely, thank you.