One area where airlines could really improve consumer experience is in the area of pricing. Generally when booking a ticket over the internet, taxes, fuel charges and various add-on prices present the consumer with a price much different from the one quoted in the intial screen. The end result is that I feel ripped off even though experience has taught me to expect it.

Airlines may argue that some prices are not charged by them and this leads to my second peeve about the airline booking experience. If I miss or have to cancel a flight, why can’t the airlines retrieve the taxes and other refundable fees automatically? Or should I say, why can’t they be forced to do it by regulation. This is money that they haven’t earned and doesn’t belong to them. I wonder if there is a business opportunity to retrieve this money from airlines and charge a fee for doing so. Like a central clearing house for return fees.