Easyjet ends fee-free bookings as it now charges for Visa Electron

2010

Don`t forget that using a credit card in the supermarkets may seem to be free but to cover their costs they charge higher prices for the goods.
People using cash/debit cards still have to pay the same higher price for the goods, so could effectively be subsidising the credit card payers..

budgetflyer

Whats wrong with a CHOICE ? That way it would be fair for everyone

Would anyone object to, on the front page an option a or b

i.e

a) click here if you would like a fully inclusive price displayed
b) click here if you are happy to choose your options to guarantee the lowest possible price

2010

It`s not only the "low costs" (soon to be high costs) that are adding items on as you go along and not giving a final price.
(I can`t see how you can get a final price at the start if you`re not finished anyway).

Try booking a package holiday with Thomson, there are all sorts of "options" and add-ons until you reach a final price.
Choose your seat, add a meal, add more baggage allowance and that`s just the flight part of it.
You then come to transfers, car parking, car hire, hotel upgrade, all inclusive, half board, etc.

When you think about it RA isn`t doing much different from anyone else.
They are giving what most people seem to want

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choice.

NFH

2010 wrote: »

When you think about it RA isn`t doing much different from anyone else.

Yes, Ryanair is doing things differently. Unlike most other traders, Ryanair excludes unavoidable additions from the headline price. And by "unavoidable", I am also including charges that are very difficult or cumbersome to avoid as well.

zagfles

2010 wrote: »

It`s not only the "low costs" (soon to be high costs) that are adding items on as you go along and not giving a final price.
(I can`t see how you can get a final price at the start if you`re not finished anyway).

Try booking a package holiday with Thomson, there are all sorts of "options" and add-ons until you reach a final price.
Choose your seat, add a meal, add more baggage allowance and that`s just the flight part of it.
You then come to transfers, car parking, car hire, hotel upgrade, all inclusive, half board, etc.

When you think about it RA isn`t doing much different from anyone else.
They are giving what most people seem to want

---

choice.

The key word is options. Not a compulsory extra charge unless you happen to have a certain type of payment method which hardly anyone has.

Besides which I found the opposite last time I looked at booking with Thomson - the initial price quoted included a lot of stuff I didn't want (transfers, extra baggage etc), I took these off and the final price was lower than the initially quoted price

budgetflyer

zagfles wrote: »

Besides which I found the opposite last time I looked at booking with Thomson - the initial price quoted included a lot of stuff I didn't want (transfers, extra baggage etc), I took these off and the final price was lower than the initially quoted price

Which in my mind is WORSE !

They are adding things on that you may not want. You have to deliberately remove them to get to the price you want.

2010

zagfles wrote: »

The key word is options. Not a compulsory extra charge unless you happen to have a certain type of payment method which hardly anyone has.

Well this is what EJ has just done it`s took away the option to use a free Electron card and made a compulsory charge for ALL bookings of £9.

RA through it`s cash passport card is giving you the OPTION (key word) of reducing your fare by £6 each way.

NFH

budgetflyer wrote: »

Which in my mind is WORSE !

They are adding things on that you may not want. You have to deliberately remove them to get to the price you want.

This practice will also be outlawed by Article 22 of Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights when this is enacted in the UK later this year along with Article 19 (more relevant to this thread).

Before the consumer is bound by the contract or offer, the trader shall seek the express consent of the consumer to any extra payment in addition to the remuneration agreed upon for the trader’s main contractual obligation. If the trader has not obtained the consumer’s express consent but has inferred it by using default options which the consumer is required to reject in order to avoid the additional payment, the consumer shall be entitled to reimbursement of this payment.

NFH

2010 wrote: »

Well this is what EJ has just done it`s took away the option to use a free Electron card and made a compulsory charge for ALL bookings of £9.

But it costs Easyjet the same to accept Visa Electron as it does to accept any other UK Visa debit card, so why should Visa Electron be free but not the others? It's about the obscurity of the payment method rather than the costs of accepting it.

zagfles

budgetflyer wrote: »

Which in my mind is WORSE !

They are adding things on that you may not want. You have to deliberately remove them to get to the price you want.

I don't think so - it depends on the context. Thomson are a package holiday company so (arguably) the default should be they offer a full package, ie including transfers and a baggage allowance per passenger. Maybe even in-flight meals as these were always part of a traditional package.

So to quote a price for a full package and then give the customer the option to remove stuff they don't want seems fair enough.