Independent Study Concludes That Shopping for the Best Travel Deal Online Confuses Consumers; Consumer WebWatch Proposes Guidelines for Independent Airline Ticket-Booking Sites.

Business Editors

YONKERS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2002

Consumer WebWatch, a Consumers Union non-profit research project with a mission to improve the credibility of online content, has released a comprehensive report on the Internet travel industry exposing the changing and confusing nature of the Web's single largest commerce category.

The report suggests changes the online travel industry should consider in order to be more consumer-friendly as well as detailed advice to help travelers. The full report is available at www.ConsumerWebWatch.org.

Consumer WebWatch partnered with Harrell Associates, an independent research firm with extensive experience in airline ticket-booking systems, to develop the report, titled "The Internet Travel Industry: What Consumers Should Expect and Need to Know, and Options for a Better Marketplace."

Supported by grants from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Open Society Institute, the study traces the evolution of the travel industry from the deregulation era of the late-1970s to the online travel era of the mid-to-late 1990s. Specifically, it explores new business models that formed with the advent of booking travel on the Internet. Lastly, findings from Consumer Reports Travel Letter (CRTL) and Consumer WebWatch, released yesterday, were factored into the analysis. In that report, CRTL closely evaluated the six largest independent travel Web sites and found that while several sites excel in certain areas, none outshines the others in all aspects of booking.

The Internet travel industry report says that changes in the online travel market present both opportunities and risks for the consumer. While the industry has improved in several key areas, such as providing the ability to access low fares and viable itineraries, it also reveals problems that remain to be solved, many inherent to the travel industry in general.

Consumer WebWatch Reveals Industry Guidelines

In response to the study's findings and in accordance with its mission, Consumer WebWatch suggests a core set of guidelines to help independent airline ticket-booking sites improve the credibility of their information. The guidelines, listed below, and the research findings are available at http://www.consumerwebwatch.org.

"When we published our guidelines for all Web sites in April, we pledged to go industry by industry to develop a better understanding of the issues consumers face in trusting information online," said Beau Brendler, director of Consumer WebWatch. "Because a significant percentage of Americans are turning to the Web to book travel, we knew this was where we could make the greatest and most immediate impact."

Consumer WebWatch believes independent airline ticket-booking sites will promote Web credibility, improve trust among users and increase usability if they adopt its guidelines for all Web sites as well as the following industry-specific guidelines:

1.  Sites should provide consumers with a comprehensive list of
    airlines and travel companies with which they do business. This
    list should be prominently displayed and easy to find, with a
    current date of last update.

2.  Sites should provide consumers with basic explanations of how
    their Web booking technologies work, for instance, how they
    receive their flight and fare data, how often new or exclusive
    fares are loaded into the system, and what criteria are used to
    include or exclude fares.

3.  Sites should tell consumers if a given fare is exclusive to that
    site, exclusive to a particular air carrier or affiliated
    carriers, or exclusive to the Internet. All quoted fares should
    include all necessary federal and local taxes, airport and
    security fees, fuel surcharges, and all other required taxes,
    fees, and surcharges.

4.  Sites should provide basic definitions of these frequently used
    marketing terms: "low-fare," "lowest-fare," "discount fare,"
    "discounted fare," and "nonstop" vs. "direct" vs. "connecting"
    flights. Sites should avoid making claims of offering a "lowest
    fare" if subsequent ticketing fees and service charges raise the
    price of a ticket sufficiently enough that a competitor's price,
    or an airline's own branded site, beats that fare.

5.  The better sites will provide a 24-hour-a-day toll-free help desk
    to assist consumers with changes, cancellations and refunds, and
    the booking of multi-city or other complicated itineraries. At a
    minimum, sites should in writing provide all relevant information
    and instructions for dealing with changes, cancellations, refunds
    and multi-city bookings.

6.  Sites should provide consumers with a comprehensive list or
    drop-down menu of all airports served, and their related codes, by
    geographic area. This information should be prominently displayed
    and easy to find with a current date of last update. To assist in
    fare searches, the better sites will allow consumers to tailor the
    search by airport, stops en route, and seat selection, and allow
    for changes mid-search.

For more information on the Consumer Reports Travel Letter special report, log onto www.consumerreports.org/travel.

The Consumer WebWatch mission is to investigate; inform; and improve the credibility of information on the Web. ConsumerWebWatch.org will be home to research and analysis on issues of credibility, usability and content, along with news of use to consumers navigating the Web.

Consumer WebWatch is a project of Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine and ConsumerReports.org. The project is supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which invests in ideas that fuel timely action and results; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities; and the Open Society Institute, which encourages debate in areas in which one view of an issue dominates all others.

The material above is intended for use by legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports(R) is published by Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit testing and information-gathering organization, serving only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers.