They do that already.

Post #353,622 by beepster 1/26/12 3:50:24 PM Reply	They do that already. At least as part of the booking process, perhaps not in advertising..when they talked about "fares as low as xxx"... However, the only outlier in that was taxes and fees...and the fact that they make an appreciable impact in the total number should highlight to you just how much tax you already pay (7.5% plus 3.70 per person per segment plus another 16.30 if you are leaving the US (8.20 if leaving CONUS)...so the fact that you bought a $29 ticket that ended up costing you $75 wasn't the airline's fault. What Ben is saying is that if the gov hikes the excise tax to 10...it will now appear to all as an airline price increase, not a tax increase...because he well knows, as well as you..that you look at the big number and not the detail underneath. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.
Post #353,624 by drook 1/26/12 4:52:19 PM Reply	Think of a "normal" traveler I don't fly every week. If I need to buy a ticket I have no idea when the price last changed. So if the price is $5 higher than it was last week, I don't even notice. All I know is that the TV commercial said $29 but I'm paying $75. Besides that, prices vary depending on what site you book it through, time of day, how far out you're booking, and all the other factors airlines use to calculate variable prices. So like I said, "normal" travelers won't be upset about the price increase, because they won't know there was one. People who travel a lot, or work in the industry, are the only ones who will notice when the price goes up. And they already understand why. -- Drew
Post #353,625 by beepster 1/26/12 5:50:45 PM Reply	You've just stated his point if the government wants to increase taxes in this "new" model..they can, and noone will notice. from the Spirit site... "If the government can hide taxes in your airfares, then they can carry out their hidden agenda and quietly increase their taxes. (Yes, such talks are already underway.)" And you just stated, consumers won't notice...and even if they do notice the price to visit grandma next year went up 10 bucks, they will blame the airline...not the government. The low cost airlines, like Spirit, Frontier, Southwest, etc...don't price like the big boys (yield mgt faring, leading to 100 different prices on one flight)...usually its last minute, 7 day, 14 day and "wanna get away" specials...thats why the big complaint comes from Ben at Spirit. No longer can they say Fares from $29..which was their fare...that came to 50 or so each way post taxes and security and pfc charges and all the other stuff uncle sam has loaded them down with. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.
Post #353,627 by Another Scott 1/26/12 6:24:09 PM Reply	It's a stupid point, IMHO. It's an "OMG TEH SEEKRIT TAXES!!!" argument that a teabagger would use. Or someone who thinks that viral marketing is the way to run a business for the long term... http://en.wikipedia....al_advertisements "That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." - C.H. Cheers, Scott.
Post #353,629 by beepster 1/26/12 6:54:21 PM Reply	Well then, for consistency the government should assert that ALL ADVERTISEMENT, not simply airlines, should include all applicable taxes and fees and lets include shipping for all those online retailers. After all, we're too stupid to know all by ourselves that the price isn't the price until we actually pay for it. Sure, understanding today's complex world of the future is a little like having bees live in your head. But...there they are.
Post #353,646 by S1mon_Jester 1/26/12 10:53:46 PM Reply	A few thoughts when I worked for a big computer consulting firm and traveled each week, I ignored the taxes...and only cared about the total cost. That's all the company cared about (and they didn't care much, they billed my traveling costs back to the customer) Same with extra bag fees, getting in the front of the line fees and fees to sit in the big comfortable seats. Some of that was annoying, because I couldn't justify those fees when traveling back to the customer...but flying twice a week and you get status and those fees are automagically waved anyway (and you upgrades to first class). The only people these fees are going to affect are recreational travelers - and they're already price sensative anyway. But I'm not sure why the government doesn't get to taxes these ancillary fees anyway. When I worked in international tax, governments who regularly tax anything and everything they felt like. (No joke, if you send packages from Mexico to Guat..they actually tax Mexico's tax.) Shrug.

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