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Travel News / Airfare Deals / DOT / Airlines / Airline News / Spirit Airlines / → All Tags

Spirit Airlines is Way Pissed at Those New Airfare Rules (Because Now They Can't Deceive As Easily)

So the time has finally come for airlines to reveal the actual cost of the airfare they’re selling. We talked about the rules and regulations earlier this month, but now the reactions are starting to pour in.

Notice that Delta happily advertises on their booking page that all ticket prices include all taxes—they note “One Price. Period.” However, that’s not the case for the head honchos over at Spirit Airlines, as they’re more than a little cranky with Uncle Sam and all the new airfare pricing mandates, to the end that they're flat-out insulting consumer intelligence. Right, tell us something we don't know about Spirit, you say.

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Travel News / Airfare Deals / DOT / Airlines / Airline News / → All Tags

No More $9 Airfare Ads After New Rules Take Effect This Month

January is a good month for consumers looking to buy some airfare, as in just a few weeks some new rules kick in about how tickets and flights are priced and promoted.

Starting on January 26, the way you buy flights is going to change just a little bit, but don’t worry as it’s an easy change and it makes things better. Airlines will now have to disclose the true final amount of your ticket, and that means revealing all fees, taxes, and other little tidbits that mess up your travel budget. So moving forward you’ll know how much the total airfare will set you back before you get to the spot where you enter your credit card information.

These rules and regulations should also effect airline advertisements and promotions, as they’re supposed to now promote only the actual full fares—inclusive of taxes, fees, and this and that. We’re thinking that could really bum out carriers like Spirit Airlines, but it’s good to know what you’re getting yourself into right up front.

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Live From New York / Funny Travel / Neil Patrick Harris / Kristen Wiig / Air Traffic Control / Flight Caps / DOT / → All Tags

Why We Were Disappointed By The SNL Air Traffic Control Skit

We were tickled to see a typically unlit corner of American travel shown on "Saturday Night Live" this past week in "Fran & Freba," in which two proper ladies (Kristen Wiig and guest host Neil Patrick Harris) chew over their personal problems while... directing air traffic. Neither a lecherous boss nor their giant fake fingernails could stop them from the task at hand! We could even use the phrase former Virgin America CEO Fred Reid used to describe the air traffic control system itself to describe them: "So retro [they're] cool."

But while we love Wiig with the fire of a thousand suns, and NPH brought the LOL this week, we wish the spot had tried to say something substantive about the problem the DOT is facing where over-congested airports are concerned. Last we heard, the DOT was asking airlines to voluntarily cut service to New York's LaGuardia Airport, one of the most plagued by delays. Not surprisingly, no airline has publicly stepped up yet. (A DOT spokesman claimed "strong support from at least one carrier" in December. Riiiiight.) And let's face it, these lovelies could barely deal with three flights on radar, let alone a traffic jam.

Maybe Lorne Michaels was afraid saying anything remotely critical would snag him a spot on the no-fly list or at least the dreaded SSSS secondary screening code. Lorne, may we suggest Amtrak?

Related Stories:
· Nov. 2007: Airport Hell: Is It Really That Bad? [Jaunted]
· The Best Travel Media Story of 2007 Is Airport Congestion [Jaunted]
· June 2008: Senator Sez NYC's Airports Still A Mess [Jaunted]
· Dec. 2008: DOT Lowers LGA Flight Caps [Aviation Week]
· Jaunted Interview: Chatting with Fred Reid [Jaunted]
· Funny Travel: Suspicious Samberg [Jaunted]