DOT Fines Flights24.com $30,000 for Advertising Violations

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined Unister USA, also known as Flight24.com, $30,000 for violating the department’s rules on fare advertising and disclosure of codeshare flights.

An investigation by the department’s Aviation Enforcement Office found that, from at least July 2011 through October 2011, ads on Unister’s website failed to disclose at the first point that additional taxes and fees would be imposed, including Unister’s service fee.

Unister’s website violated DOT rules requiring any advertising that includes a price for air transportation to state the full price to be paid by the consumer, including all carrier-imposed surcharges.

Until Jan. 26, 2012, only government-imposed taxes and fees assessed on a per-passenger basis, such as passenger facility charges, could be stated separately from the advertised fare, but they had to be clearly disclosed in the advertisement so that passengers could easily determine the full price to be paid.

Internet fare listings were permitted to disclose these separate taxes and fees through a prominent link next to the fare stating that government taxes and fees were extra, and the link had to take the viewer directly to information where the type and amount of taxes and fees were displayed.