Transportation Dept. Cracks Down on Deceptive Ads

MSNBC: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is once again penalizing airlines that practice deceptive price advertising. In separate cases, the agency on Thursday fined Continental Airlines and US Airways to the tune of $120,000 and $45,000, respectively.

“Passengers have the right to know how much they will have to pay when they buy an airline ticket,” DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement, “and we will continue to take enforcement action when these rules are violated.”

In the Continental case, the agency found that the company’s website failed to include fuel surcharges in its listed fares. In one example, a fare from San Jose, Calif., to San Salvador, El Salvador, was listed at $298 on the first two pages, but increased to $538 once the fuel surcharge was added on the third page.

“We immediately responded to the DOT’s concerns and addressed the issue,” said Continental spokeswoman Julie King. In the US Airways case, DOT said that the airline’s website advertised a fare to Rome of $659 with an asterisk noting additional taxes and fees, but provided no details on the type or amount of fees involved.The airline had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.

The fines are the latest development in what many consider DOT’s heightened focus on enforcement. The agency has fined 26 airlines and travel companies for a variety of violations this year, according to the Dallas Morning News’ Airline Biz Blog.

Those infractions range from failure to disclose code-share flights to operating unauthorized air transportation. All told, the agency has handed out almost $3.4 million in fines this year, according to the blog.