auc report on passenger survey - Air Transport Users Council

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8 When booking a flight, have you ever mistakenly paid a fee for an optional additional service, which you did not want No / Don’t know 84% Yes 16% Travel insurance Baggage to check in Seat allocation Additional baggage Priority boarding Other 6% 4% 4% 2% 2% 1% Base: All respondents who are aware of additional charges (1,958) – March 2010 Table 6 Source: Ipsos MORI Regulation (EC) 1008/2008 on “common rules for the operation of air services in the Community” includes provisions on airline ticket pricing. It states that “optional price supplements shall be communicated in a clear, transparent and unambiguous way at the start of any booking process and their acceptance by the customer shall be on an opt-in basis”. The survey results appear to suggest that at least some airlines do not comply with this provision. We will use this feedback in our work on this issue in the future. Performance <strong>report</strong>ing Key findings • 63% of respondents said that performance league tables would influence their decision on which airline to use by a great deal or fair amount. • 84% of respondents tended to agree, or strongly agreed, that performance league tables should be made generally available. We believe that performance <strong>report</strong>ing is an incentive to underperforming airlines to improve service quality. It also has a side effect of providing consumers with information to help inform their choice of airline. We have previously published both punctuality and baggage league tables based on data provided by other sources. We have also called for the European Commission to legislate to force airlines to publish service quality indicator <strong>report</strong>s. The results of the survey provide evidence of strong public support for performance <strong>report</strong>ing.
9 Refund of taxes, fees and charges Key findings • 15% of respondents had cancelled a non-refundable ticket, with 45% of these claiming a refund of taxes, fees and charges (TFCs). • 57% of those who had claimed a refund for such a ticket were not able to get any money back. There are occasions when passengers, for whatever reason, have to cancel their booking for a non-refundable ticket. Because airlines usually separate out TFCs from the main fare on tickets and confirmation invoices, passengers often try to claim a refund of the TFCs. Most airlines will agree to refund TFCs subject to administration fees, usually for an amount more than that to be refunded, thus making the claim redundant. We think this is unfair; if airlines insist on separating out TFCs on tickets and confirmation invoices then passengers expect to be refunded for this part of the fare should they decide to cancel their ticket. The results of the survey suggest that a significant number of passengers cancel non-refundable tickets and try to claim a refund. But they also suggest that a majority of the respondents are unable to get any money back. We have previously called for an end to this practice but many airlines continue to charge fees. We will use this feedback to inform any future action we might take on this issue. Environment Key finding • No mentions of the environmental impact of the aircraft in answer when respondents were asked to list up to five considerations when booking a ticket. There has been a drive in recent years to inform passengers about environmental performance of airlines so that passengers can take this into account when choosing which airline to fly with. With this in mind, many airlines now promote their aircraft as being environmentally friendly in a bid to attract the more environmentally conscious consumer. But the results suggest that the environmental impact of an aircraft is far from a passenger’s mind when they are booking a ticket. AUC 28 th July 2010
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auc report on passenger survey - Air Transport Users Council

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