I found the link to this US DoT Guidance on Air Fare Advertisements on flyer talk.
Essentilly it says that the fuel surcharge is NOT (as we all know) a tax and it is therefore illegal for an airline to describe it as such or even give the impression it is a tax.
As to reward fares it states
and whilst it does not say these are wrong in anyway it does say they must be fairly disclosed. I assume this also means not lumping it into the 'taxes etc' part of the fare.
I have posted this on the VS FB page but I don't hold out any hope of a proper answer as it is obviously in the 'too hard' pile and (as with previous posts in a similar vein) will simply not be answered.
Essentilly it says that the fuel surcharge is NOT (as we all know) a tax and it is therefore illegal for an airline to describe it as such or even give the impression it is a tax.
As to reward fares it states
In a similar vein, we have observed that carriers may add “fuel surcharges” or other fees to their frequent flyer ticket offerings, some in an amount of several hundred dollars. Any such charges assessed also must be fairly disclosed and an accurate reflection of the actual costs as described above.
and whilst it does not say these are wrong in anyway it does say they must be fairly disclosed. I assume this also means not lumping it into the 'taxes etc' part of the fare.
I have posted this on the VS FB page but I don't hold out any hope of a proper answer as it is obviously in the 'too hard' pile and (as with previous posts in a similar vein) will simply not be answered.
Huzzah for International Jet-setting !
