Six out of ten passengers complain about fraudulent airline practices

Bengaluru: Drip pricing, false urgency, forced bargaining and basket sneaking – these are some of the tools used by airline apps or websites to hike up prices and catch ticket buyers off guard, said a survey released by Local Circles on Friday.

The survey, which included 55,000 responses from 20,000 passengers across 322 counties, found widespread use of dark patterns, with at least six out of ten passengers surveyed falling victim to these tactics.

About 72% of frequent airline app users experienced an increase in airfares when they searched for the same flight multiple times within a single session. This means that about 7 in 10 airline app users frequently face an increase in airfares when they search for the same flight multiple times within a single session, the report said.

62% of respondents experienced drip pricing, where additional fees or costs are added to the original cost in a non-transparent manner. These are hidden costs that are not visible up front but are only presented when paying.

62% of respondents were affected by false urgency or the creation of a fake sense of ticket scarcity to exert booking pressure.

Additionally, 40% of consumers have frequently been victims of “cart sneaking,” where a service is added to their shopping cart or transaction without their consent.

“Most reports of dark patterns were associated with the IndiGo portal/app, including basket sneaking, confirm shaming, interface interference and drip pricing,” the survey added.

According to the report, the Department of Consumer Protection received over 10,000 complaints about airline fraudulent online practices last year through the national consumer hotline. These complaints suggest that airlines and online travel portals use various manipulative tactics or “dark patterns” to deceive customers.

In November 2023, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) discussed the possibility of integrating the National Consumer Helpline with the Air Sewa Portal, a travel assistance portal, to assist consumers.