November 10, 2009 -- For immediate release

Victoria, BC

Cheap Tickets Canada applauds WestJet and ACTA for renewing calls for transparency in travel related prices. Since a letter dated April 14th 2000 to the then Minister of Transport, David Anderson in regards to improving Bill C-26, Cheap Tickets Canada.com President, Normand Schafer has been calling on travel providers and government to establish travel pricing regulations. Mr. Schafer's most recent request came in 2008 prior to the Canadian Government deferring action on bill C-11 after one year of deliberating the subject. One of the reasons given for deferring better transparency in pricing was because Canada's major airlines felt that they would be put at a disadvantage to their international competitors. In 2008 however, both Britain and Europe established rules regulating how flight prices must be displayed to ensure transparent pricing practices.

When Cheap Tickets Canada first brought up the subject in April 2000 an example of an airline ticket was used where two tickets were priced on the same Air Transat flight from Vancouver to Toronto using two different methods. The first seat was $274 plus $19.18 tax while the second ticket was $299 plus $74.45 in taxes.

Another example in July 2008 illustrated that some travel providers were still taking advantage of the lack of legislation. When pricing flights from Vancouver to London, England on July 7, 2008 Cheap Tickets Canada found an Air Canada price of $638 and a Northwest Airlines price of $790. While it appeared that Air Canada's ticket was $152 less, when all taxes, fees and surcharges were included the Air Canada ticket was $167.50 more. The taxes, fees and surcharges on the Air Canada ticket were $512.95 while they were $193.45 on the Northwest Airlines Ticket.

As of November 9th 2009 a WestJet Vacations package to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic at the Dreams Palm Beach for February 20 to 27th indicate taxes of $158.80 per person. The same package on the same dates with Sunwing Vacations indicates taxes of $320 per person. With a $161.20 discrepancy it is obvious why WestJet Vacations is supportive of transparent travel prices. Either it has to manipulate prices to compete or it will be left at an advertising price point disadvantage.

The main problem is not the basic taxes themselves which are fairly consistent. The problem is in the fees and surcharges that are being added at the discretion of tour operators and airlines as an add-on to the fare itself. In recent years these additional fees have included everything from fuel surcharges to currency surcharges.

In May 2008 WestJet Airlines began charging a fuel surcharge because Air Canada had been charging these fees for over a year previous. The challenge was that Air Canada could advertise an identical fare to WestJet while the total price was in fact lower with WestJet. If transparent pricing rules had been in place, WestJet would have found no need to join in the pricing game. Fortunately with the drop in oil prices some of these surcharges have since been dropped but some tour operators have found alternate excuses to create new fees embedded within the taxes rather than adjust their advertised prices.

Cheap Tickets Canada is requesting that government require all tour operators and airlines include fees and surcharges in the base fare of advertised ticket prices. Cheap Tickets Canada.com would like to see that all taxes being added to airline tickets or vacation packages are consistent so that consumers are getting accurate price comparisons in the advertised prices they see.

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