Six out of 10 fliers complain of deceptive practices by airlines

Bengaluru: Drip pricing, false urgency, forced action and basket sneaking - these are some of the tools used by airline apps or websites to push up fares, catching ticket buyers unawares, says a survey released by Local Circles on Friday. 

The survey covering 55,000 responses from 20,000 flyers, across 322 districts, found a rampant use of dark patterns. At least six of every 10 fliers survey fell prey to these tactics.

About 72% of frequent airline app users experienced an increase in airfares when searching for the same flight multiple times within a single session. This translates to about 7 in 10 airline app users frequently experience airfare increases when searching for the same flight multiple times in a session, the report stated.

Drip pricing, when additional fees or charges are added to the initial cost in a non-transparent manner, was experienced by 62% of the respondents, who talked for hidden charges, not seen upfront but only presented at the payment stage.

False urgency or creating a fake sense of scarcity in tickets to pressure booking has been suffered by 62% of those surveyed. 

Again, 40% of consumers frequently experienced 'basket sneaking,' where a service is added to their cart or transaction without their consent.

"The maximum 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, over 10,000 complaints related to deceptive online practices by airlines were lodged with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs via the National Consumer Helpline last year. These complaints suggest that airlines and online travel portals employ several manipulative tactics, or ‘dark patterns,’ to mislead 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 traveller support portal, to assist consumers.