The sneaky tactics used by airlines to make you pay more – and how to avoid them
THE sneaky tactics used by airlines to make plane tickets cost more have been revealed, as well as methods to try and avoid them and keep prices down.
Prices for holidays are on the rise, with travellers having to fork out extra for every aspect of their trip.
However, one thing they could be paying much less for is their flights, with airlines using clever tactics to put costs up.
Budget airlines in particular are guilty of charging for every detail of the flight, from seat selection, to extra hand luggage, meaning the price can easily increase.
However, one method they rely on is called “decision fatigue” with each spending choice having to be made by customers one after the other.
Financial Review claim that this can reduce a person’s ability to make a good decision, resulting in them spending more than they might have intended.
They said: “This airline or that? Early flight or later? Pay for a window seat? Pay now for a checked bag? Upgrade to premium economy? With each decision, our ability to make ideal choices diminishes.”
Decision fatigue relies on the customer wanting to have the tickets booked as soon as possible, meaning they will make snap decisions without thinking about them.
However, FR claim that by simply taking time over each decision, passengers will only pay for what they need to.
They continued: “Realising a flight is more expensive than you imagined and then starting over takes time and energy, so consider booking flights at a time when you’re not in a rush and you can spend more time doing comparison shopping.”
Cait Lamberton, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania agreed.
She told FR: “If you want to overcome these biases, you will have to slow down and give yourself the space to pay attention to these things.”
Even by following their advice, it’s easy to see why passengers end up paying extra for their flights.
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Research published this month by the Telegraph revealed that passengers can pay as many as 32 different prices for the same Ryanair flight.
This often works in the airline’s favour, with the extras alone costing more than the initial cost of the flights in some instances.
John Grant, from air travel analyst OAG, told the Telegraph: “It has undoubtedly proven to be a very lucrative form of revenue generation.
“Some low-cost airlines are now generating more revenue per passenger from ‘ancillary revenues’ than the actual airfare.”
It’s therefore up to budget airline passengers to try and keep costs down when booking their flights, by not selecting too many add-ons, if any.
Bringing your own food, instead of paying for a meal on the plane, is one way to do that – with snacks permitted within hand luggage.
Only flying with carry-on is another way to eliminate costs too, as is not paying for a seat – as long as you can handle being away from family or friends for the duration of the journey.
Meanwhile, this Ryanair flight attendant revealed the hilarious truth about Tiktok hand luggage hacks
And this is the perfect bag to use for hand luggage.