Comment from Philip Jensen

Philip JensenOpposeIndividual
Summary: The commenter opposes the proposed changes to airline pricing transparency, arguing that allowing airlines to display individual fees with the same prominence as the total price will lead to consumer confusion and "bait-and-switch" marketing. They urge the DOT to uphold the 2011 Full Fare Rule to ensure the total out-of-pocket cost remains the most visible information.
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed changes under Docket DOT-OST-2025-0831. The DOT’s core mission should be to protect passengers from unfair and deceptive practices, not to make it easier for airlines to obscure the real cost of travel. The current rules protect passengers by ensuring that the single most important piece of information—the total cost out of pocket—is the most visible number on the screen. Allowing airlines to display individual taxes, fees, and fare components with the same prominence and font size as the total price will inevitably lead to confusion and opens the door for deceptive "bait-and-switch" marketing, where consumers are lured in by an artificially low base price, only to discover the true cost much later in the checkout process. Scrapping the restriction on font sizes serves no benefit to the traveling public. It only benefits airline marketing departments at the expense of consumer transparency. Please protect the consumer, uphold the 2011 Full Fare Rule, and reject this proposal.

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