Dealers said that they frequently face difficulty in obtaining offers or promotional prices announced for airline tickets and travel packages, stressing that the actual booking experience often ends with higher prices, or with the announced offer not being available, despite the continued appearance of advertisements on digital platforms.
They reviewed to Emirates Today their experiences with private advertisements on social media sites, stressing that increasing transparency in advertisements will help consumers make more accurate decisions.
For their part, officials in the tourism and travel sector confirmed that the announced prices are preliminary, and are available for a limited number of seats and hotel rooms, noting that the offers depend on dynamic pricing that constantly changes according to levels of demand.
They stated that airlines and travel agencies work within a clear framework of conditions and standards that determine the mechanism for offering promotional offers, including real prices, disclosure of included travel dates, and benefits, in order to ensure transparency with customers and enable them to understand the real price from the beginning, noting that a limited part of travel agencies may sometimes resort to announcing very low, unreal prices, to attract attention.
Customer comments
In detail, the dealer, Ahmed Al Mansouri, said that his experience with promotional offers for travel packages and airline tickets made him less enthusiastic about them, and he added to “Emirates Today”: “I planned to travel with my family years ago to one of the Asian destinations during the spring break, and an advertisement on social media caught my attention offering travel tickets starting at 1,900 dirhams per person, so I found the opportunity appropriate, and entered the website link immediately, but I did not find the same price, and I also tried more than one travel date and more than one trip.” Flight, and every time the prices were higher by hundreds of dirhams.”
Al Mansouri confirmed that he contacted customer service to inquire, and they informed him that the advertised price had sold out and was no longer available, indicating that the problem was that the advertisement was still appearing in front of customers at that time.
He continued: “In later years, I followed the offers announced on airline tickets and travel packages, but I did not find, even once, the prices that were announced, so those ads no longer concerned me anymore, and I became content with early booking.”
For her part, the customer, Maryam Abdullah, said that her experience was with a travel agency that offered a vacation package that included flight and accommodation in a European city at a price that was much lower than the prevailing market prices. She added that she was looking for a family trip in the summer, and saw an advertisement talking about a package that included flight tickets and accommodation for four nights at a very attractive price. She indicated that she contacted the agency directly, because she feared the offer would run out, but the employee explained to her that those prices were only available for the cost of accommodation. Hotel accommodations, while special offers for airline tickets have sold out.
As for the dealer, Hossam Ali, he faced a different problem related to the rapid change in prices, indicating that he was trying to take advantage of an offer that he had received an alert on his phone about, meaning that the offer had been issued now. He continued: “The offer was related to the prices of travel tickets to a tourist destination during the weekend, and I found the offer appropriate, and I began discussing it with my friends, and after less than an hour I returned to complete the reservation, but the price had risen significantly.”
He added: “I thought there was an error on the company’s website, so I contacted the airline, which informed me that prices change according to demand levels and seat availability,” adding that he understands that pricing in the aviation sector is dynamic and constantly changing, but what confuses the consumer is seeing an advertisement or offer, then not finding it after a very short period.
Clarity of terms
In the same context, the dealer, Ahmed Al-Abdullah, said that promotional offers represent an important opportunity to reduce the cost of travel when they are actually available, but the challenge lies in the gap between the price that attracts the consumer’s attention in the advertisement, and the price that he is able to obtain when reaching the final reservation stage. He pointed out that clarity of conditions, and highlighting the restrictions related to dates, availability of seats, and additional fees would enhance the confidence of dealers, and reduce the frustrations that some travelers face when trying to benefit from the announced offers.
In turn, customer Lamia Al-Hassan said: “When reading the advertisement, the offer appears to be available to everyone, but upon inquiry, additional conditions and details appear, such as limited seats, or the requirement to travel on certain days, which makes benefiting from the offer difficult.”
She pointed out that she does not doubt the existence of these prices, but they are often very limited or for very short periods, stressing that increasing transparency in advertisements will help consumers make more accurate decisions, such as the periods when prices are actually bookable.
Pricing systems
In addition, Salah Mansour, CEO of STS in the Dubai Link Group, said, “The gap that customers notice between the announced prices and the prices they find when booking does not necessarily mean that the offer is not real, but rather reflects the nature of the pricing systems adopted in the aviation and travel sector around the world.”
He explained to “Emirates Today”: “Airlines do not sell all seats at the same price, but rather distribute plane seats into multiple price categories, so that a limited number of seats are available within the lowest price category, and when these seats are sold, the system automatically moves to the next highest price category.”
He added: “When an airline or travel agency announces prices starting from a certain amount, this price is actually available under specific conditions related to the date of travel, the number of seats available, and the time of reservation,” noting that “in many cases the demand for offers is very high, which leads to the seats allocated to the promotional category running out within a short period.”
He stated that there are several conditions for these offers that are clarified, as the final price depends on factors, including the booking date, travel date, and seat availability. Some packages are also linked to hotels, flights, or specific room categories whose prices change constantly.
Limited seats
For his part, the CEO of Sharif House Tourism and Travel Company, Sharif Al-Farm, said, “The travel sector is increasingly relying on dynamic pricing systems that continuously update prices according to levels of demand and the availability of seats and hotel rooms, which explains the rapid changes that customers are observing.”
He explained: “In holiday offers, for example, the advertised price may be linked to a specific hotel, a specific room category, or travel dates with low demand. When any of these elements are changed based on the client’s desire, the final cost may naturally increase.”
He continued: “The most prominent reasons why the customer does not find the announced price is the limited number of seats at the announced price, as a limited number of seats are allocated within a low price category, and when they run out, the system automatically moves to a higher price. Ticket prices change continuously according to demand, the number of remaining seats, and the timing of reservation.”
He explained that “a large portion of the offers do not apply to holidays and weekends, and the announced prices are mostly based on travel during low-demand days, such as the middle of the week and outside the holiday seasons, and when the customer is looking for travel on a school holiday or an official occasion, the prices are higher.”
Clear frame
In addition, a manager at a local travel agency, who requested to remain anonymous, said, “Airlines and travel agencies usually work within a clear framework of conditions and standards that determine the mechanism for offering promotional offers, including real prices, disclosure of included travel dates, and benefits within the discounted price, in addition to clarifying whether additional fees are included or not included in the announced price.”
He explained that this approach aims to ensure transparency with customers and enable them to understand the real price from the beginning, so that the promotional offer is a tool to stimulate booking and not to cause confusion among the consumer, stressing that “most of the major companies in the aviation and tourism sector adhere to these rules precisely.”
He continued: “On the other hand, there is a limited portion of travel agencies that may sometimes resort to advertising very low and unreal prices, with the aim of attracting attention and increasing the volume of visits or inquiries, without these prices being widely available, or easily bookable.”
He stated that “this type of practice may cause confusion for customers, especially when the restrictions and conditions are not sufficiently explained, which leads to a gap between the consumer’s expectations and the final price when trying to complete the reservation,” noting that “a small percentage of these offers may be misleading.”
• A limited portion of travel agencies resort to advertising very low, unrealistic prices to attract attention.
