The era of 1p flights is over

Ryanair will soon be changing the way it advertises its low cost flights, doing away with the era of flights for one pence.

As one of the first budget airlines in Europe, Ryanair advertised incredibly low prices for flights to entice impulse buyers into spending cash. With taxes and surcharges, the price of flights was often significantly higher than advertised, but that didn’t stop people from buying, even people who had no intention to fly.

A flight advertised for one pence might add up to as much as £30 once all the extras have been added on. Statistics reveal that as many as 10 per cent of those who take advantage of these deceptively cheap fares never show up at the airport.

Normally, the tax charged by an airline gets paid to the airport, but when passengers pay for a flight and don’t fly, the airline isn’t charged for the passenger by the airport and gets to keep the tax for themselves.

The situation has led to a detailed investigation into airline advertising practice by the European Commission. Industry experts expect the Commission to bring in legislation requiring hidden fees to come out of the closet and be fully displayed.

Some airlines like easyJet and Flybe have already made the change and include fees in their prices at all stages of ticket booking. Ryanair is expected to do the same in 2008 when they bring in a new system for making bookings.

www.ryanair.com