• August 5, 2011

The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined Air Canada for deceptive price advertising.

Earlier this year, Air Canada's websites "did not disclose the amount of taxes and fees that passengers would have to pay in addition to the advertised fare, or lead the consumer directly to the information on these taxes and fees," the department's Aviation Enforcement Office found. When customers clicked on the ads, they were taken to a web page displaying routes and prices, but details of additional taxes and fees could only be found in the fine print at the bottom of the page.

"As soon as the U.S. Department of Transportation advised us of their concern regarding the way information was displayed on one of our ads on several U.S. websites, we looked into this immediately and, within 24 hours, had the banner ads modified to improve clarity," Air Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said in a statement, calling it an "isolated occurrence."

Department of Transportation rules, which apply to both domestic and foreign carriers, require any advertising that includes an air fare to state the full price the customer will pay, including all surcharges. Government-imposed taxes and fees, such as the passenger facility fees, currently exempt from the pricing rules, will have to be included in the advertised ticket price beginning Jan. 24.--Tanya Irwin