When you book a plane ticket and add it to your online basket it’s not uncommon for the price to suddenly increase, thanks to hidden extras.
And if you’re unfortunate enough to need to change the name on a ticket you can also get stung with a bill for that, too – as many people who’ve tried to do so will know.
But extortionate charges may soon be a thing of the past, as the UK’s airline regulator is planning a crackdown on opaque charges planning to force airlines to makes charges and terms and conditions more transparent.
The Civil Aviation Authority is conducting a review into booking rules used across the airline industry.
What do the main airlines currently charge to make changes to bookings?
Which? has tracked the charges airlines in the UK make to allow customers to make changes to bookings – and says there are widely varying rules depending on the airline, with some far more generous than others.
Carrier costs analysed by the consumer group are below.
Ryanair: Passengers now have up to 48 hours to make corrections free of charge. To change the name on a booking the airline will charge you at least £115 per name per flight and up to £160 if done at the airport.
EasyJet: A spelling mistake or simple name change – for example, changing the name from Nick to Nicholas, is free of charge. Something more complicated will cost you up to £52 per passenger per flight.
British Airways: Transferring your ticket to another name is not allowed but you can cancel and get a full refund up to 24 hours after booking. You can also make a simple name correction (for example to correct a typo) over the phone – but BA may charge you any change in taxes, fees and carrier-imposed charges or fuel surcharges that have occurred since the original booking was made.
Virgin Atlantic: It’s free to correct a small spelling mistake on the booking or to amend it if you’ve legally changed your name but transfer to another name is not allowed.
Jet2: You can correct a spelling error of up to three letters for free, while a name change costs £35 per person each way plus any difference in the fare since the flight was first booked.
Emirates: A name correction costs £10 while transferring the ticket to another name is not allowed.
Richard Moriaty, chief executive at the CAA said at an airline conference that some terms and conditions imposed by airlines “can feel downright unfair to some passengers – charging a significant amount of money to correct a simple typo made during the booking process, for example.”
“We have been undertaking a review of airline terms and conditions which we are due to publish this summer,” he said, adding that while some airlines deserve credit for their policies, the CAA would like to see “greater openness and transparency”.