Airlines to include card charges in headline ticket price

Several airlines - including easyJet and Ryanair - have pledged to include card charges in headline ticket prices, rather than adding a surcharge at the end of the online booking process.

Twelve airlines in total made the agreement after action by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Aer Lingus, BMI Baby, Eastern Airways, Flybe, German Wings, Jet2, Lufthansa, Thomas Cook, Thomson and Wizz Air all made the pledge along with easyJet and Ryanair.

Monarch began the practice last summer when the OFT first announced it would investigate the matter.

The airlines have also agreed to make credit card charges clear in the early stages of booking, and the government is reportedly considering legislation that will force companies across all sectors to do the same.

The OFT said: "It is critical that these charges are transparent and not sprung on shoppers towards the end of the booking process."

The OFT estimates that card charges on air fares rack up a total cost to consumers of £300m a year.

Image: Getty

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