South Africans love to complain about South African Airways, and often it is richly deserved. However, the airline equally deserves praise for amending its consumer website so that all fares quoted when booking flight tickets through www.flysaa.com will now include the cost of tax and surcharges.

The airline says "this new development was implemented to ensure ticket prices were transparent and complied with international Consumer Protection Acts and Laws which require the travel industry to include taxes and surcharges in the prices quoted for services."

Whether it was a carrot or stick that forced the change, it is to be applauded. Travellers need all the transparency they can get.

When booking on flysaa.com you will now see at a glance what a one-way or return ticket will cost, including: Airport tax, security surcharge, destination airport tax, passenger surcharge, airport tax due at the transfer or stopover airport (if applicable), fuel surcharge and VAT (if applicable).

The only costs which will not be included in the price quoted are those that customers have control over, such as:

  • Reservation costs: this amount varies according to the point of sale (e.g. flysaa.com)
  • Paper ticket surcharge ? if the customer requests a paper ticket they will be liable for this cost
  • Credit card surcharge ? some banks require this surcharge from clients for tickets purchased with a credit card
  • Local departure tax (if applicable) ? this amount depends on the specific destination and is required on departure
  • Collection of a ticket from a city or airport office ? a service fee is applicable when opting to pay later when booking via flysaa.com
Well done SAA? let's hope your competitors follow your lead.