Ottawa eyes crackdown on ticket ads Complaints mounting: Hidden charges confound flyers, inflate prices Peter Fitzpatrick National Post Friday, June 14, 2002 Amid growing concerns about hidden fees and charges, Ottawa is considering= =20 action to ensure airline ticket advertisements more clearly set out the=20 true cost of a flight. Transport Canada and the federal Competition Bureau= =20 have begun discussions to determine if new regulations are needed in=20 response to increasing complaints about the way tickets are advertised,=20 said Valerie Dufour, director general of air policy at the department. "I=20 don't know if this is going to be an area for government action, but we've= =20 begun to do some consultations with the Bureau," she told the Canadian=20 Airline Investment Conference in Toronto yesterday. Airline tickets in=20 Canada are typically advertised at a base price to which assorted fees,=20 surcharges and taxes are then added. Some come from the airlines=20 themselves, such as fuel surcharges, but most are outside the airline's=20 control and include such things as navigation fees, the new $24 air travel= =20 security tax and fees paid to airports to improve their facilities. Studies= =20 have found that, world wide, there are some 300 different types of charges= =20 added to ticket prices. Horror stories abound, but recently James Moore, senior transport critic=20 for the Canadian Alliance, complained two Montreal-Toronto round trip=20 tickets that originally cost $488 had $253 in additional charges. Andr=E9=20 Lafond, deputy commissioner of competition at the Bureau, said his agency=20 has not received many complaints, but that the matter has been handed over= =20 to its Fair Business Practices Branch. Last week, the Canadian=20 Transportation Agency took a first step to limit additional fees when it=20 ruled that Air Canada's proposed international fuel surcharge, amounting to= =20 $15 per one-way ticket, could remain in effect for only 120 days. "The=20 ever-increasing use of surcharges limits consumers' ability to compare=20 advertised air fares as the advertised price does not usually disclose the= =20 true price," it ruled. Also at the conference, David Collenette, the=20 federal transport minister, addressed another long-standing policy question= =20 - the opening up of Canada's skies to U.S. carriers, a practice known as=20 cabotage. The minister said he has raised the issue several times with=20 current and past transport secretaries in the U.S. but has been repeatedly= =20 rebuffed. "We'll talk about it if the Americans are willing to talk about it. . .=20 [but] why should we waste time on a fantasy," he said. Americans are resisting because their airlines and airline unions oppose=20 cabotage, fearing that lower-cost Canadian competition. International=20 treaties would require both the U.S. and Canada to open up their markets to= =20 most other countries because they cannot give special privileges, he said.= =20 From a Canadian perspective, Mr. Collenette said he personally opposes=20 allowing foreign carriers into Canada, either on a unilaterally or a mutual= =20 basis because it would hurt Canadian industry. Moreover, large U.S.=20 carriers would only fly the major routes such as Toronto-Calgary, where=20 there is already competition, and ignore small markets where a lack of=20 competition is a bigger concern, he said. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (RBTT) http://www.rbtt.com/ (RBTT Financial Group) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************