How About Airlines – sheershanews24.com

With many airlines now touting “unbundled” fares, it is easy for passengers to mistake lower advertised prices for “unbundled” fares. Cheap flight tickets. But for consumers looking to get the best airfare deals during the summer travel season, it pays to understand how “trickle-down pricing” can make airfares more expensive.

In fact, according to travel experts, choosing the cheapest base fare is no longer the best way to score a deal. This is because airlines now typically charge more for “extras” such as seat assignments, checked baggageSnacks or Wi-Fi.

“No one likes to feel like they’re on a dime, like the flight price they’re looking at is a bait and switch,” Scott Keys, founder and CEO of travel website Going.com, told CBS MoneyWatch.

Here’s what to consider. At first glance, the starting price of a flight you find on an online travel site may seem enticingly low. But after factoring in the cost of seat selection, checked baggage and other add-ons, the fare can be much higher – as much or more than an all-inclusive fare.

The model, often called “trickle-down pricing,” is sure to boost airline revenue, and proponents say it benefits customers by paying for benefits they truly value. Critics say this makes it more difficult to determine the true cost of flights and compare prices between airlines.

Cases trace drip pricing back to 2008, when airlines began charging passengers to check a second bag. This allows full-service airlines to offer low-cost, no-frills tickets to compete with budget airlines.

“The lower overall price attracts people – and then they start adding seat fees,” says Case. “It was an innovation for low-cost airlines that was copied across the industry and followed by full-service airlines.”

‘It makes things very difficult’

However, the problem with unbundling fares for consumers is that it becomes more difficult to compare what different airlines charge for tickets, experts told CBS MoneyWatch.

“It makes it hard to know what the total cost is,” says Vicki Morwitz, a marketing professor at Columbia Business School. Consumer reaction to report drip prices

His research shows that consumers tend to book flights that look cheaper up front, but once add-on fees are taken into account, the cost is higher. “Consumers make the mistake of spending more than they need to,” he explains.

Jay Sorensen, president of IdeaWorks, a consultant for American Airlines, agreed that drip pricing makes comparing airfares more complicated. But he still believes consumers can benefit from paying for the extras they want, leaving behind things that aren’t important to them.

“Of course, the result is that it becomes more difficult to make comparisons between different products and airlines,” he said. “While this is true, airlines, as profit-seeking companies, have no obligation to compare themselves more easily to their competitors.”

Sorenson compares the experience of booking a flight today to shopping for groceries.

“You bring a shopping cart and as you go down the aisle, you drop things in the cart,” he said. “You buy a base fare, and as you go through the reservation route, you can add things to your cart, like paying for checked bags, seat assignments, or reserve meals or other services,” he said. “It’s a very different approach to how travel was sold in the United States.”