Industry criticised again over brochure pricing
The travel industry has come under fire yet again for misleading consumers over brochure pricing.
The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) claims that consumers are mislead into thinking their holiday is one price, then are bombarded with supplement charges such as transfers to accommodation, meals on the plane, or taking a Saturday flight instead of flying on a weekday.
It made similar complaints during the TSI Conference in July 2002, accusing the travel industry of “making holiday prices an unintelligible maze of confusion and exploitation”.
The summer 2003 brochures published by operators have also been criticised by Holiday Which? magazine, which released a report this month saying prices are still unclear. It said: “Old habits die hard, and even though some of the operators have rejigged their headline prices, all of them still use the small print to squeeze money out of you”.
The magazine compared the cost of a two-week holiday in Majorca for a family of three, with the four big operators. It found that the total price calculated from the brochures varied between £1,878 and £2,385, the cheapest of which was Airtours, although the return flight arrived back at 0115. The magazine also obtained agent quotes for the holiday, which varied only £33, between £1,808 and £1,841, due to various discounts.
Holiday Which? further criticises Airtours for not sticking to the pledge it made in July, to make pricing transparent. The survey said: “Airtours has just launched the second edition of its brochure with a promise of low prices and no routine discounts, although Going Places quoted a child price £70 less than in the brochure”.
In response to the report, an Airtours spokesperson told TravelMole: “What we’ve always said is that there will be the odd discount at agents and in brochures. It is the blanket discounts that will not appear any more”.
The magazine report said that by restructuring their packages, the operators have, “changed the rules of the game, making it much harder to compare the
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