Aviation: Fares

Mr. Greg Knight
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that air fares advertised by low-cost airlines accurately reflect the cost to the consumer.

Paul Clark
Regulation EC 1008/2008, which came into force last November, requires airlines to include in the advertised fare all applicable taxes, charges, surcharges and fees which are unavoidable and foreseeable at the time of publication. It also requires the existence of any optional price supplements to be clearly communicated at the start of the booking process. Department for Transport officials are working with the Civil Aviation Authority and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to establish an enforcement regime for the Regulation, which will include appropriate penalties for non-compliance. The OFT has also taken successful action on all-inclusive pricing by airlines under existing consumer protection legislation.