Have your say on airfare advertising regulations

Consumers have until Sunday to let the Canadian Transportation Agency know what they would like to see in air services price advertising regulations. Since Feb. 13, the agency has been hosting an online consultation at airservicesadvertising.ca to allow Canadians to easily post new ideas, comment on ideas, and/or support which ideas they like best. The two-week consultation closes on Feb. 26. Submissions gathered from the online consultation will help the agency in the drafting of regulations requiring air carriers to include in their advertisements all costs to the carrier, as well as all other fees, charges and taxes. The intent of the new regulations is to ensure greater transparency and allow consumers to easily determine the total price of an air service — before they make their purchase decision. The agency is asking Canadians: “In an ad, what would help you to easily determine the total price of an airline ticket?”Canadians across the country are answering the call to action. In just nine days since the consultation was launched, more than 2,500 Canadians have visited the site to gather information and to support, comment on or post ideas in the forum. The couple of hundred ideas and comments submitted thus far include “inclusive pricing”and “abolishing fuel surcharges”to suggestions on “baggage charges”and “rules applying to flights purchased with points and/or dollars.”Canadians now have the opportunity to contribute to the process of drafting federal regulations — at http://www.airservicesadvertising.ca/idea-forum .