DOT Fines Spirit Airlines for Deceptive Price Advertising

25 November 2011 5:24pm

DOT Fines Spirit Airlines for Deceptive Price Advertising
By Kate Rice

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) fined Spirit Airlines $50,000 for violating federal aviation laws and the department’s rules prohibiting deceptive price advertising in air travel. DOT rules require any advertising that includes a price for air transportation to state the full price to be paid by the consumer, including all carrier-imposed surcharges.

The only exceptions currently allowed are government-imposed taxes and fees that are assessed on a per-passenger basis, such as passenger facility charges, which may be stated separately from the advertised fare but must be clearly disclosed in the advertisement so that passengers can easily determine the full price they must pay.

Internet fare listings may disclose these separate taxes and fees through a prominent link next to the fare stating that government taxes and fees are extra, and the link must take the viewer directly to information where the type and amount of taxes and fees are displayed.

In print advertisements, including billboards and posters, an asterisk or other symbol placed next to the advertised fare may refer the reader to the bottom of the advertisement where the type and amount of the fees may be stated separately, in type large enough so that passing consumers can read the information.

In addition, if carriers advertise an each-way fare that is available only if the consumer purchases a roundtrip ticket, the advertisements must clearly and conspicuously state the roundtrip purchase requirement.

For a period of time in June 2011, Spirit used billboards and hand-held posters to advertise new service from Los Angeles that contained an asterisk next to the advertised fare. On the billboards, the asterisk led to small print which stated that additional taxes, fees and conditions would apply, but did not disclose the amount of those taxes and fees. The posters did not include any information about the taxes and fees or their amounts.