Spirit Airlines has just released a new website called KeepMyFaresLow.org. The content of this site was also sent to those on their email list. The argument of KeepMyFaresLow.org:
Thanks to the U.S. Department of Transportation's latest fare rules, Spirit must now
HIDE the government's taxes and fees in your fares.
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 if they can do it to the airline industry, what's next?
As the transparency leader and most consumer-friendly airline, Spirit DOES NOT
support this new USDOT mandate. We believe the better form of transparency is
to break out costs so customers know exactly what they're buying.
Interestingly KeepMyFaresLow.org doesn't specifically oppose the increasing of taxes and fees. It seems that what KeepMyFaresLow.org DOES oppose is forcing airlines to advertise the FULL actual price that consumers like you will have to pay when their transactions are final. The U.S. Department of Transportation takes the opposite view.
"Airline passengers have rights, and they should be able to expect fair and reasonable treatment when booking a trip and when they fly," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement released yesterday. "The new passenger protections taking effect this week are a continuation of our effort to help air travelers receive the respect they deserve."
In other words, the Department of Transportation is forcing airlines to be more truthful in their advertising. Evidently Spirit Airlines has a reason to oppose truth in advertising.
Our advice to Spirit Airlines: comply with the DOT regulations, and add a line of copy in every ad about how much of each fare is taxes and fees. If they want to gather support to lower government taxes and fees, I'm sure they can find many, many travelers who will support them in that effort. But pushing for LESS truth in their advertising isn't really going to help anybody.
Except for, perhaps, Spirit Airlines.
Thanks to the U.S. Department of Transportation's latest fare rules, Spirit must now
HIDE the government's taxes and fees in your fares.
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 if they can do it to the airline industry, what's next?
As the transparency leader and most consumer-friendly airline, Spirit DOES NOT
support this new USDOT mandate. We believe the better form of transparency is
to break out costs so customers know exactly what they're buying.
Interestingly KeepMyFaresLow.org doesn't specifically oppose the increasing of taxes and fees. It seems that what KeepMyFaresLow.org DOES oppose is forcing airlines to advertise the FULL actual price that consumers like you will have to pay when their transactions are final. The U.S. Department of Transportation takes the opposite view.
"Airline passengers have rights, and they should be able to expect fair and reasonable treatment when booking a trip and when they fly," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement released yesterday. "The new passenger protections taking effect this week are a continuation of our effort to help air travelers receive the respect they deserve."
In other words, the Department of Transportation is forcing airlines to be more truthful in their advertising. Evidently Spirit Airlines has a reason to oppose truth in advertising.
Our advice to Spirit Airlines: comply with the DOT regulations, and add a line of copy in every ad about how much of each fare is taxes and fees. If they want to gather support to lower government taxes and fees, I'm sure they can find many, many travelers who will support them in that effort. But pushing for LESS truth in their advertising isn't really going to help anybody.
Except for, perhaps, Spirit Airlines.
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