Fliers beware: new airfare rule could lead to costly mistake

NEW YORK (AP) — The three largest U.S. airlines have changed the way they price multi-city trips, forcing those who book such itineraries to pay hundreds of extra dollars in airfare.

The simultaneous adoption of new pricing rules by all three carriers has led the Business Travel Coalition to accuse the airlines of illegally coordinating on this "complicated and comprehensive scheme."

The advocacy group asked the Department of Justice to add this to its ongoing investigation of possible airline collusion.

The group's chairman, Kevin Mitchell, said "fliers and will no doubt be blindsided by this new policy and pay dearly when shopping at airline websites."

American spokesman Joshua Freed said the change was made in mid-March to stop fliers from paying fares lower than the airline had intended for certain markets.

Brett Snyder, who runs an air travel assistance company called Cranky Concierge, put it differently: "They haven't found a way to solve it eloquently so they solved it with a sledgehammer."