Airline websites make you hunt for bottom-line price

As competition to offer the lowest airfares increases, airline websites are becoming less transparent about displaying bottom-line prices that include taxes and fees.

Federal laws require airline and online travel sites to disclose the total price (base fare plus taxes and fees), before customers click to buy a ticket, but how and when the airlines do that varies.

Most travel websites quote a bottom-line price in their initial fare displays. Some airlines don't, making it appear their price may be lower than it is.

United Airlines' website, www.united.com, showed a $288 round-trip fare between Seattle and Chicago in May. United touted it as the "lowest fare available," then in small type, noted that additional taxes and fees apply. Click on "Price breakdown," and a total fare of $309 appears, the price displayed by Expedia, Orbtiz, Travelocity, Bing and Kayak.

A search on American Airlines' website, www.aa.com, for a round-trip flight between Seattle and Dallas in April showed an "economy super-saver" price of $119 each way for a total of $238. It was only when those flights were selected that a round-trip itinerary appeared with a price of $259.40, including taxes and fees.

Delta Air Lines displays fares, including taxes and fees, in initial search results but obscures the bottom-line price in faint type. To be fair, a few of the travel websites do this too.

A check on www.delta.com for flights between Seattle and Paris in late March brought up a low round-trip fare of $810. At first glance, the fare appeared to be $715 — the price listed in large, black numbers above the $810.