Monarch Airlines Scraps Debit Card Charges
Budget airline Monarch revealed this week that it has scrapped all fees for passengers booking their cheap flights to Europe by debit card.
Monarch has hopes to steal a march on its rival cheap fares carriers and pressure them to follow suit, with the abolition of debit card fees and the introduction of a £10 fixed rate for credit card bookings. This would be a rate that is not dependent on the value of the transaction or the number of passengers involved.
Monarch Group chief executive Conrad Clifford commented: "In these difficult economic times, there is absolutely no justification advertising one fare and then stinging consumers with hidden excess charges."
"When I joined Monarch six months ago, the first thing we undertook as a new management team was to examine the way we charged customers for using credit cards. The move today is a result of that review process and the new charging structure will go into effect immediately."
Mr Clifford went on to reveal that negotiations with the credit card companies were ongoing and the airline hopes to reduce the fees further still, adding that the ultimate aim is to "not have to charge customers for using any payment cards at all".
Monarch Airlines has also announced its plan to focus more on its scheduled operations, as it launched a rebrand. At the heart of the move lies a shift away from charter flights and an expansion of scheduled cheap flights to Europe's top sunshine and leisure destinations.
It also wants a completely transparent pricing system which makes clear that passengers will be able to book cheap flights, with a numbered seat, ample legroom and hold baggage at a comparable rate to other low-cost carriers.
Budget Airline News posted by 
on 07 June 2011
cheap fares, cheap flights to Europe, cheap flights,
http://www.monarch.co.uk/news/flights/2011-news/debit-card-fees-abolished
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