Yet while airlines continue to complicate their fares and diverge from each other, the trend with package holidays is going the other way. Tour operators have been including more in their packages and base prices, rather than less, responding to customers who want more certainty over the overall cost of their holidays.
A few months ago, for example, Tui told me that 67 per cent of their holidays sold are all-inclusive, meaning that all drinks and meals are covered by the holiday price, which also normally includes flights, hold baggage, transfers and, of course, your room. (And ironically, I notice that tour operators run by budget airlines, EasyJet Holidays and Jet2 Holidays, automatically included hold luggage in the holidays I checked.) Sure, there are always a few options which can bump up the initial quote, that’s unavoidable. But the base price is a clear and proportionate indicator of what you are likely to pay.
That just isn’t the case when airlines might double the fare they first quote just so that you can carry a reasonably sized bag onto the plane with you. It’s time for more consistency and transparency so we really can tell who is offering the cheapest fares.