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Monday, February 6, 2012

Spirit pounded for its misleading criticism of fare rules

Spirit Airlines is surely getting what it wants these days with its highly misleading statements posted on its Web site about the new federal requirement that airlines display the full cost of airline tickets, including the fare, taxes and fees. After all, here I am writing about it again. But as the Business Travel Coalition points out in a statement, reported today by the Travel Agent Central Web site, Spirit apparently believes that blatantly insulting government regulators is good corporate policy and will help force the government to back down. Spirit added insult to injury by also adopting a new $2 per one-way segment fee to cover the supposed cost of meeting the new regulation.

Once again, as I pointed out in my blog post last Thursday, found just three items below this one, some airlines -- notably for PHL fliers US Airways -- are breaking out taxes from the fare in one simple, easy to understand display. Other carriers are including the taxes as they are now required to do in the ticket cost, but making you look harder for the breakdown between fare and taxes. Spirit is simply not telling the truth when it says it is required to hide the taxes.Yes, the fares may be low (or maybe not after all the fees are added) and some employees good and helpful, but this is another reason to avoid an otherwise sleazy outfit. 
Posted by Tom Belden @ 3:17 PM  Permalink | 2 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:40 AM, 02/07/2012
    Spirit Airlines is outright deceiving consumers, and it's almost as if DOT directly refers to Spirit in its regulation. The Wexler Wallace Law Firm Blog also comments on Spirit's deceptive practices: http://blog.wexlerwallace.com/?p=1277
    — Jay E
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:03 PM, 02/09/2012
    It certainly does not seem like Spirit is engaging in good business practices and I agree that they are taking advantage of their customers. In Ethics in Human Communication, Christopher Johnston introduces us to his idea of ethical communications. He holds to a “commitment to the idea that humanness is good—that human nature has worth…our choices of communication means and ends can be assessed for ethicality, in general, by the degree to which they humanize or dehumanize us” (Johannesen et al., 2008, pg. 44).
    Naturally, the goal of a corporation is to turn a profit, and no one is blaming Spirit for trying to do so. However, how that profit is earned is what determines how ethical the company is behaving. It is their method of communicating that has Spirit in the hot seat right now. In the case of Spirit, they are deliberately deceiving potential ticket-buyers into thinking that Spirit’s tickets are the cheapest. Then, the company is refusing to take responsibility for its actions. Instead, it is blaming DOT for the miscommunications.
    I find myself wondering if maybe this is all a publicity stunt on Spirit’s behalf. It makes me nervous that a company truly believed it could treat its customers like this.
    Ashley Morris | Graduate Student
    Drury University | www.drury.edu
    Reference:
    Johannesen, R. L., Valde, K. S., & Whedbee, K. E. (2009). Ethics in human communication. (6th ed.). Waveland Pr Inc.
    — amorris02


2 comments
About Tom Belden
Tom Belden has been reporting about Philadelphia International Airport and other air travel subjects for more than 20 years, writing columns for The Inquirer's Travel and Business sections. His reporting (with colleague Craig McCoy) on baggage handling problems in Philadelphia have been credited with helping to improve the system. His previous blog was called Road Warrior. He can reached at tbelden@phillynews.com.
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