It is the latest pricing change in a sector where multiple airlines now even give passengers an option to pay to be next to a vacant seat, in a clever strategy that allows carriers to charge for tickets that do not otherwise sell.<\/p>\n
In an extreme example of pricing changes, Canadian airline WestJet reconfigured its aircraft last year<\/a>, requiring passengers to pay an extra fee if they wanted a seat that reclines.<\/p>\n Such changes are usually marketed by the airlines as a simplified, user-pay system that keeps entry level prices low for those looking for a cheap fare.<\/p>\n But Graeme Hughes, a consumer expert and adjunct associate professor at Griffith University, says it further obscures the checkout price.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis allows Jetstar to broadcast the cheapest price, but of course those add-on costs are something which are going to hit you as you click through the booking process,\u201d Hughes says.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be frustration there for travellers because it means they can\u2019t easily do an apple-for-apple comparison with other airfares.\u201d<\/p>\n Andy Kelly, the campaigns director at the consumer advocacy group Choice, says Jetstar\u2019s new policy is \u201cjust an easy cash grab, really\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAlready, to choose seats could be over $20, around $50 if you want the ability to cancel your flight to get a credit, and then an additional $50 to join their loyalty program to get a discount,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThey just make it really hard for consumers to make an assessment of value and also to compare different products.\u201d<\/p>\n European experience<\/p>\n The EU recently mandated that airlines \u2013 along with booking platforms and search engines \u2013 will have to display air fares that are inclusive of carry-on luggage at the outset of the booking process, to make it easier for consumers to compare prices.<\/p>\n The European Council introduced the mandate after fierce pushback from the airlines<\/a> to an earlier proposal by the European parliament to give passengers the right to carry on a small case for free, as well as the free under seat bags currently permitted.<\/p>\n In its press release, Jetstar said its shift to a \u201csize-based carry-on baggage model\u201d was similar to other low-fare carriers around the world.<\/p>\n
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