BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Remember the days when buying an airline ticket meant that there were hidden fees that you did not know about until you were ready to buy the ticket? Well, those days are over.
For passengers like Michael Daugherty, buying a ticket used to be more of a guessing game, waiting to see how much the final cost of a ticket would be after the taxes and fees were added in.
"I think I always assumed there were taxes and fees in the past. I just didn't know how much and it was usually more than I expected," Daughtery said.
Now, there are new rules in place so passengers can see how much their ticket costs before they buy it.
According to the Department of Transportation, these new rules mean that airlines and ticket agents have to disclose ticket, baggage and airport fees when passengers are at the beginning stages of buying a ticket.
Another new rule allows passengers to hold a reservation without payment or they can cancel a booking without a penalty for a 24 hour period as long as it is done a week before the departure date.
"I didn't know about it. It sounds great. Another way to make it easy, usually you reserve a flight and sometimes you have to kind of have to do it in haste to get it," Daugherty said.
A statement from Senator Olympia Snowe states: "I was
pleased to see the new rules from the Department of Transportation promoting increased transparency in the pricing of air passenger's tickets."
And other people agree.
"I like transparency. I like telling it like it is," Ellsworth resident Jeff Jacobs said.
"I think it's great. It will make things easier and more transparent," Daugherty said.
So the next time you buy a ticket, you should have a better idea of how much it will cost you to fly before you buy the ticket.
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