“What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn t know how much it s goi

Global distribution systems that supply flight and fare data to travel agents and online ticketing services like Orbitz and Expedia, accounting for half of all airline tickets, exotic car rental in atlanta georgia complain that airlines won t provide fee information in a way that lets them make it handy for consumers trying exotic car rental in atlanta georgia to find the best deal.
"What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn t know how much it s going to cost even after he s done at the checkout exotic car rental in atlanta georgia counter?" said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which represents the global distribution services and online travel industries.
The harder airlines make it for consumers exotic car rental in atlanta georgia to compare, "the greater opportunity you have to get to higher prices," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel exotic car rental in atlanta georgia Coalition, exotic car rental in atlanta georgia whose members include corporate travel exotic car rental in atlanta georgia managers.
Now the Obama administration is wading into the issue. The Department of Transportation is considering whether to require airlines to provide fee information to everyone with whom they have agreements to sell their tickets. A decision originally scheduled for next month has been postponed to May, as regulators struggle with a deluge of information from airlines opposed to regulating fee information, and from the travel industry and consumer groups that support such a requirement.
Meanwhile, Spirit exotic car rental in atlanta georgia Airlines, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines — with backing from industry trade associations — are asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling forcing them to include taxes in their advertised fares. exotic car rental in atlanta georgia The appeals court upheld exotic car rental in atlanta georgia a Transportation Department rule that went into effect nearly a year ago that ended airlines leeway to advertise a base airfare exotic car rental in atlanta georgia and show the taxes separately, often in smaller print. Airlines say the regulations violate their free-speech rights.
At the heart of the debate is a desire by airlines to move to a new marketing model in which customers don t buy tickets based on price alone. Instead, following the well-worn path of other consumer exotic car rental in atlanta georgia companies, airlines want to mine personal data about customers in order to sell them tailored services. You like to sit on the aisle and to ski, so how would you like to fly to Aspen with an aisle seat and a movie, no extra baggage charge for your skis, and have a hotel room and a pair of lift tickets waiting for you, all for one price? You re a frequent business traveler. How about priority boarding, extra legroom, Internet access and a rental car when you arrive?
"Technology is changing rapidly. We are going to be part of the change," said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president of Airlines for America, which represents most carriers. "We want to be able to offer our customers a product that s useful to them, that s customized to meet their needs, and we don t think (the Transportation Department) needs to step in."
If airlines have their way, passengers looking for ticket prices may have to reveal a lot more information about themselves, such as their age, marital status, gender, nationality, travel history and whether they re flying for business or leisure. The International Air Transport Association, whose 240 member airlines cover 84 percent of global airline traffic, adopted standards at a meeting earlier this month in Geneva for such information gathering by airlines as well as by travel agents.
"Airlines want, and expect, exotic car rental in atlanta georgia their (ticket) exotic car rental in atlanta georgia distribution partners to offer passengers helpful contextual information to make well-informed exotic car rental in atlanta georgia purchase decisions, reducing the number exotic car rental in atlanta georgia of reservations made based primarily or exclusively on price," said a study commissioned by the association.