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Home / Business / Companies / Airlines

Jetstar: We're not alone in 'opt-out' pricing

NZME.
20 May, 2015 06:10 AM3 mins to read

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Jetstar is under pressure to stop pre-selecting options. Photo supplied.

Jetstar is under pressure to stop pre-selecting options. Photo supplied.

Jetstar say they are not alone in using an "opt-out" pricing regime on their booking website after the company came under fire from Consumer New Zealand over the practice.

The budget airline carrier is under pressure to stop pre-selecting options such as travel insurance, seating and baggage on its website requiring customers to manually deselect options that add additional costs to the price of their airfare.

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• Consumer NZ lobbies Jetstar over 'opt out' pricing

A Jetstar spokesman said the airline's practices were similar to other budget airlines.

"Jetstar is a low cost carrier and our pre-selected options are in line with other low cost carriers worldwide."

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The spokesperson said pre-selected items on Jetstar's website were all are clearly displayed and easy to deselect.

"Pre-selection can alert travellers to services such as travel insurance or checked baggage that they may not have considered.

"If they don't want to purchase a pre-selected product they just tick a button and continue with their booking.

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"We believe our pre-selection processes comply with all laws and we are explaining our position to the Commerce Commission."

Jetstar are currently under investigation by the Commerce Commission over the practice.

Commission spokesman Christian Bonnevie said it was unknown how long the investigation would take. In a statement released earlier this month the commission said they were concerned companies may be misleading consumers into purchasing something they didn't intend to by requiring them to 'opt out' of buying additional goods or services during an online sales process.

Commerce Commission chair Dr Mark Berry said the body were targeting companies which used this practice.

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"Consumers are perfectly capable of deciding for themselves whether they want to pay for additional products or services. If a company is concerned that its customers need insurance then a suitable approach is to require them to tick 'yes' or 'no' in a mandatory field and leave it in their hands."

Air New Zealand faced a similar investigation over the practice in January in relation to the way insurance was automatically selected for customers booking tickets on the airline's website and mobile app.

The Air New Zealand investigation resulted in the Commerce Commission issuing a formal warning, and the airline has since suspended the practice.

Research conducted by NZME. News Service revealed Air Asia and Naked Bus also used an opt-out pricing regime. Air Asia's booking website pre-selected an option for baggage inclusion and travel insurance on a budget return flight from Australia to Hanoi.

Low-cost airline EasyJet did not pre-select options for its customers. People booking flights on the company's website were required to select add-ons including insurance and inflight meals.

Airlines were not the only culprits. Budget bus service, Naked bus, also used the pre-select function on their booking website. The website automatically selected travel insurance, an additional baggage fee and a text confirmation fee on a booking from Auckland to Hamilton. Customers were required to manually uncheck these options if they did not want them.

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Other bus companies, Intercity and Mana bus, did not use the "opt-out" practice.

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