Read Fine Print on Airline Fares

Airlines can advertise and promote special fares and assorted discount offerings, such as the recent spurt of coupons worth $200 off flights to Europe, before approval of these fares and discounts is secured from the pertinent foreign government.

However, these ads specify--all too often in the small print at the bottom of the ad--that these special fares/discounts are subject to government approvals.

“As long as passengers are told that tickets sold on these fares are subject to government approval, it’s OK to advertise them,” said a Department of Transportation spokesman in Washington. The fares also have to be filed with DOT and foreign authorities before they can be advertised or sold.

“Even with domestic fares,” the DOT spokesman added, “the consumer has to know what he’s buying as far as conditions and restrictions with that fare.”

Case in Hand

But what happens to travelers who buy tickets based on these special fares/discounts if a foreign government subsequently turns down a promotion?

A case in hand is the Pan Am campaign of offering $200 coupons off its flights to Europe if the tickets were bought from travel agents before midnight on April 15. This ad, of course, had the “subject to government approvals” mention.

Other airlines competing with Pan Am on these routes to Europe immediately went into meetings to chart their marketing reactions. In the intense competition between carriers, some airlines--Lufthansa and British Airways to name two--quickly matched Pan Am’s coupon offering. These matchings, some with big ads and some more quietly, were also made based on government approval.

Some Do, Some Don’t

Some foreign governments accepted the coupon promotion; some, like France, did not. And some allowed it selectively. Italy approved the $200 discount for Rome but not for Milan. The British government disapproved the discount but not until British Airways had already advertised its offer.

If a fare is turned down, the sale of it is supposed to stop immediately. There can be a relatively brief period to get the word out, with some airlines working faster than others in this process.

As a rule, when such special fares/discounts are turned down by a foreign government, the airlines will honor all tickets bought up to the time the disapproval is circulated in the United States. Such promotions are seldom disapproved retroactively to when they are initially offered by an airline, although that is possible.

Contrary to the announcement of such fares/discounts, news of their disapproval is trade-oriented. No big ads, of course, letting travelers know. Caveat emptor applies. It’s up to consumers to learn about such changes on their own.

This can obviously lead to problems for travelers, guided by the initial ads, who thought that they had until April 15 to take advantage of the coupon offer to all of the cited destinations. And not everyone reads or pays much attention to the small print, or understands the significance of such provisions as “subject to government approvals.”

Some people may take such approvals for granted and some may not readily understand that one or more “foreign governments” can be involved (particularly when the word foreign is left out).

Getting the News Too Late

Travel agents generally discover a message on their computers from airlines indicating a special fare hasn’t been approved. This information may be backed up by a telegram. However, not all agents are computerized, and some also learn the news by phone.

Once information is given to the travel agents announcing disapproval, the promotion is over. For example, Pan Am notified agents that its coupon offer to London was off as of March 31. It was disapproved by England on March 27. “We will honor every ticket sold up to that date,” said a Pan Am spokesman.

While airlines don’t officially sanction it, some may allow travel agents to backdate tickets when the agent didn’t get the word and only a short amount of time--hours as opposed to days--is involved. This procedure, a touchy subject, is also complicated by the fact that agents have to submit sales reports weekly. Airlines can disallow a ticket sold on such a basis and debit the travel agent for the difference in fare.

The best advice on discount offerings, with the “subject to government approval” proviso, is to buy your ticket as soon as you can. Once you have bought your ticket, not just made a reservation, you should get the discount involved even if the fare is subsequently disapproved by a particular government.

Playing It Safe

“Travelers should buy such tickets immediately,” advised Brian Clewer, head of Ambassador International Travel. “Then they’re safe.”

It should be noted that some countries are more likely to disapprove special fares/discounts than others. Foreign governments act to protect their airlines. Much depends on what sort of traffic that country is getting or expects to receive, with current events such as terrorism an obvious factor in such calculations.

“Some countries like France, West Germany and the United Kingdom turn down less expensive fares on a fairly routine basis,” Clewer observed. “Other countries like Holland and Belgium have more of an open-sky policy, and countries needing tourism badly may also be more liberal.”

Using knowledgeable travel agents is also important. When you see an ad touting a new low fare but saddled with the need for government approvals, ask an agent what the likelihood for such approvals are for the destination you’re interested in. Inquire, also, what other airlines are likely to match that fare. It’s quite possible that other airlines matching the fare may have more convenient schedules.

But the best bet is to simply buy a ticket if you want to make sure that you get that specific discount.