Q: You recently answered agencies' questions about the new Department of Transportation consumer protection rules that went into effect in late January. I have a few follow-up questions about applying the full-price rule to sales of tours, cruises and all-inclusives that include air as a mandatory component. First, if we are selling a trip to a group such as an alumni association or a family reunion, does the full-price rule apply? Second, can we get around the rule by offering a package price that includes air along with one that does not include air? Third, if there is a range of full prices, can we quote the price as "from" without including the higher prices?
A: The text of the relevant portion of the full-price rule is: "The Department considers any advertising or solicitation by a direct air carrier, indirect air carrier, an agent of either or a ticket agent, for passenger air transportation, a tour (i.e., a combination of air transportation and ground or cruise accommodations) or tour component (e.g., a hotel stay) that must be purchased with air transportation that states a price for such air transportation, tour or tour component to be an unfair and deceptive practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. 41712, unless the price stated is the entire price to be paid by the customer to the carrier, or agent, for such air transportation, tour or tour component."
Breaking the foregoing sentence down into the elements of the rule, we can see that the rule applies only to (a) advertising or solicitation; and (b), that includes either air transportation alone or air transportation that must be purchased when the customer purchases a tour or cruise.
First, when you are selling a trip to a group, the point at which you mention a price is certainly a "solicitation," so the rule would apply. I see no difference between offering a contract price to a group such as an alumni association, on the one hand, and offering a per-person price to individual group members.
Incidentally, if your agency does meetings and incentives group travel, the rule would apply, as well, unless you have a pre-existing contract with the corporate client covering a series of trips at prices to be negotiated. Of course, the rule would apply only to solicitations that include air as part of the per-group or per-person price.
Second, if you offer two prices -- one including air as a mandatory part of a trip and one not including air for the same trip -- the rule does not apply because the air is not really a mandatory component. In other words, the nonair quote does not need to follow the full-price rule, which means that you can advertise a price that does not include taxes or fees.
However, even if the rule does not apply, you need to refrain from misleading the public, or the Federal Trade Commission and state consumer-protection agencies could come after you.
Third, you may state that the airline ticket or package including air is "from" the lowest price, as long as the price is really available and is not otherwise misleading. You do not have to quote all the prices or even the range of prices, although stating a range is less misleading than quoting only the low end.
Mark Pestronk is a Washington-based lawyer specializing in travel law. To submit a question for Legal Briefs, email him at mark@pestronk.com.