Credit card allegations refuted

Air operators have hit back at claims that the credit card transaction fees they charge are unnecessarily large.

Claims that airlines impose excessive card fees for those who look to pay for flights by credit card have been refuted, it has been revealed.

As consumer group Choice claims such charges are often not in proportion with the overall value of the purchase and are not made clear to consumers, a spokesperson for Qantas claims that the fees are unavoidable.

"We believe our approach is straightforward and transparent," she adds, pointing out that the airline's service charges are clearly displayed on its online payment pages as well as its advertising material.

Meanwhile, Steve Burns, commercial director of Tiger Airways Australia, claims his organisation's $6 flat rate per person, per domestic flight is the industry standard and provides protection against fraud and bad debt.

However, Choice representative Christopher Zinn states that although imposing some costs is fair, such Aussie credit fees "shouldn't be a profit centre".

Earlier this week, Mr Zinn claimed that although people may not believe such charges are very much on a one-off basis, when all such fees are added up "suddenly becomes a large amount of money".

Written by Kate Guthrie