Read the Fine Print: Airlines' Web Fare Gotchas!
First of all, thanks to everyone who commented on my last post about where to fine cheap airline Web fares. It was very useful information, and I tried a few of the services. However, none of them beat the prices advertised on Yahoo Travel/Travelocity, and I found out why: Fine print gotchas that add hundreds of dollars to the price of four trans-Pacific round trip fares.
The guilty airlines are United, Continental, NWA, and American Airlines. (There's one foreign airline that doesn't have the gotchas, it's described at the bottom of this post). Despite offering attractive "Web fares" between $600 and $800 dollars on Yahoo/Travelocity, clicking on the rules for the four U.S. airlines reveals a much different actual price. Here's what I found in the fine print for the cheapest fare, a United round-trip flight for $613:
Fare details for KECATPSZThere're 10 paragraphs of standard fine print legalese you usually see on the back of a plane ticket (the old fashioned ones, at least), and then the gotcha:REGULAR EXCURSION SPECIAL FARE FARE
SURCHGSIn other words, the true cost of the ticket is not $613. It's $743, to take into account the cost of fuel for flying across the Pacific! Can you say deceptive advertising? Also, unlike previous transpacific flights I've taken, there is no discount for children or infants, which would affect us, as we have a preschooler and toddler.
FUEL SURCHG OF USD 65.00 APPLIES PER ADT/CHD/INF IN EACH DIRECTION. APPLIES TO TRANSPACIFIC INTL SECTOR. FUEL SURCHG OF USD 55.00 APPLIES PER ADT/CHD/INF IN EACH DIRECTION. APPLIES TO TRANSATLANTIC INTL SECTOR.
Continental has the same slimy fuel surcharge buried in the fine print, as does American, and NWA. Business as usual, apparently, for these four U.S. airlines as they try to trick cheapskates like me!
The honest airline? Japan Airlines which has a transpacific flight for $713 (fare MLXSSJL), and gives the standard kids and infants discount. I wouldn't expect this from a Japanese airline, which are known for high prices owing to the value of the Yen and high operating costs, but in the case of the searches I performed on Yahoo/Travelocity, JAL beat the U.S. airlines hands-down on price. And hands-down on policies, in my book.
Caveat emptor!
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