Article from BTNews 16 JULY 2018
Phone booking probe
Four out of five of the most popular airlines have been found to charge a higher fare when passengers book over the phone. The investigation, by Which? Travel magazine, names Ryanair and Tui as the worst culprits.
The publication said the two carriers each charged customers an additional £20 when booking over the phone. Easyjet was said to add an extra £15, while British Airways increased fares by £10 when customers called in to book.
The magazine added that Jet2 was the only airline in the investigation that did not charge customers extra for booking via the phone.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “Customers should not be penalised for booking over the phone. Airlines that are charging customers more must be clear and transparent about these additional fees."
Easyjet said: “We encourage passengers to book online. Those using our telephone service are informed of the online discount at the beginning of the call.” Passengers needing special assistance could still receive the online price by phone, it added.
Ryanair said fewer than 0.5% of its customers choose to book over the phone, while BA and Tui both claimed phone bookings added an additional admin cost.
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All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum
Graham Greenwood, United Kingdom
Phone bookings require human beings, or people, to deal with enquiries and orders, more labour cost. But as far as I know, they have not yet fitted £1 coin slots to the toilet doors, and planes still have two pilots. But no doubt that will change. Having said that, will the aircraft land itself if the pilot releases the dead mans handle, it is not like stopping a one driver train, is it!