In a move possibly intended to show a little difference from its rivals, Expedia will now display typical airline fees, including baggage charges and change fees before the final purchase of the ticket.
Typically, up to now, those charges are only seen after paying for the ticket, and can result in buying a more expensive ticket when the charges are added in. The fees accounted for $6.5 billion in airline revenue last year, and regularly top traveler gripe charts.
The new policy will apply across Expedia’s collection of brands, including Travelocity, Hotwire and Orbitz. The group competes with Priceline (including Kayak) and with Google’s growing presence in the airline booking industry.
I like transparency and think this is welcome news for travel consumers. Also a smart move on the part of Expedia, I think.