Airfares have been going higher every passing month, more so, with the forthcoming festive season. However, dark patterns on flight booking websites have been worrying fliers even more. These are manipulative tactics to mislead customers into paying a higher fare or paying for add on and unintended purchases during flight bookings. According to a LocalCircles survey, over 6 in 10 fliers have confirmed the presence of dark patterns like drip pricing, false urgency and forced action on airline apps/websites.
A total of 72 per cent consumers surveyed by LocalCircles said they have frequently experienced air fares being increased if they search for it multiple times in a session. The survey pointed out how air fares rise in some cases even as consumers are scrolling through an airline website/app or while booking the tickets. However, if a different incognito browser or device is used to access the website/app, the original lower fare is displayed. Some consumers cited in community discussions on LocalCircles that they believe some airlines at times are gauging the probability or likelihood of the consumer booking and basis that showing a higher fare to them.
Meanwhile, 62 per cent consumers added that they have frequently experienced being presented with a false sense of urgency to get them to book faster. The survey says that airlines tend to create a false sense of urgency by notifying only one or two seats are available, often pushing consumers into making hasty decisions which may backfire if they are confirmed seats which cannot be refunded in case the travel plans get aborted.
A total of 62 per cent consumers surveyed who use airline apps/websites say they have also frequently experienced hidden charges associated with flight ticket booking that are not presented upfront but only when making the payment. Consumers said they want airlines to display the total airfare to be charged upfront when they are searching for airfares and flights instead of the last step of payment.
Meanwhile, 40 per cent consumers also say they have frequently experienced Basket Sneaking where a service was added to their cart/transaction without their consent Commonly cited examples by consumers were a meal, a seat selection, a preferred/fast lane at airport or an add on insurance.
The survey received over 55,000 responses from over 20,000 airline fliers located in over 322 districts of the country.
Among airlines with which consumers reported these dark patterns were IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, Akasa Air and others. LocalCircles said it will be escalating the findings of this study to the CCPA, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation so the necessary corrective actions can be taken.
LocalCircles, a Social Media platform, enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric.
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