首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
How much does a plane ticket really cost? Just a decade ago, when most airfares included a checked bag and the ability to reserv
How much does a plane ticket really cost? Just a decade ago, when most airfares included a checked bag and the ability to reserv
admin
2014-04-20
32
问题
How much does a plane ticket really cost? Just a decade ago, when most airfares included a checked bag and the ability to reserve a seat or book a ticket by phone, the answer was pretty straightforward: the price you saw was the price you paid, minus taxes. Today, most airlines, except for a few full-service Asian carriers and a holdout or two in the United States, charge economy-class passengers extra for almost everything—a process known as " unbundling. " Want to check your luggage? That’ll be $ 25 for the first bag. Sit next to a window? $ 29. Book by phone? An extra $ 25, please.
Now U. S. regulators are considering a crackdown on what critics charge are misleading pricing practices that have unjustly enriched airlines by concealing the true cost of flying. A recent report by IdeaWorks, an aviation consultancy, found that the airline industry is making a fortune on fees, netting $ 22.6 billion worldwide in 2011, a 66 percent jump from two years before.
A new rule, formulated at the beginning of 2012, already requires domestic airlines to quote fares that include all mandatory taxes and fees. And last week, an advisory committee to the federal Transportation Department considered recommending that the government go a step further by requiring airlines to disclose all of their fees before a ticket purchase.
But airlines insist they’re as transparent as they need to be when it comes to fares, and that regulators would be overstepping their mandate if such a rule were adopted. Besides, airlines say, fees are already revealed on airline websites, and disclosure is constantly improving. For example, United Airlines, currently the world’s largest carrier, recently introduced a baggage-fee calculator that allows customers to determine how much they’ll pay for their checked luggage.
The committee’s recommendations are nonbinding, and they may have some trouble getting a nod from the next secretary of Transportation if President Obama loses the upcoming election to his Republican opponent. They also face a tedious rule-making process and a likely court challenge by airlines. But consumer groups appear to have some momentum. Airlines balked when they were required to add taxes and mandatory fees to their fares, charging the government with "hiding" taxes and with it, the true cost of air travel. Two carriers sued the government in an effort to overturn the rule. But last month, a Court of Appeals sided with the government. If the move toward price transparency catches on, it could have a ripple effect worldwide, creating a global standard for disclosure and answering the question of how much an airline ticket costs once and for all. How much does a plane ticket really cost? Just a decade ago, when most airfares included a checked bag and the ability to reserve a seat or book a ticket by phone, the answer was pretty straightforward: the price you saw was the price you paid, minus taxes. Today, most airlines, except for a few full-service Asian carriers and a holdout or two in the United States, charge economy-class passengers extra for almost everything—a process known as " unbundling. " Want to check your luggage? That’ll be $ 25 for the first bag. Sit next to a window? $ 29. Book by phone? An extra $ 25, please.
Now U. S. regulators are considering a crackdown on what critics charge are misleading pricing practices that have unjustly enriched airlines by concealing the true cost of flying. A recent report by IdeaWorks, an aviation consultancy, found that the airline industry is making a fortune on fees, netting $ 22.6 billion worldwide in 2011, a 66 percent jump from two years before.
A new rule, formulated at the beginning of 2012, already requires domestic airlines to quote fares that include all mandatory taxes and fees. And last week, an advisory committee to the federal Transportation Department considered recommending that the government go a step further by requiring airlines to disclose all of their fees before a ticket purchase.
But airlines insist they’re as transparent as they need to be when it comes to fares, and that regulators would be overstepping their mandate if such a rule were adopted. Besides, airlines say, fees are already revealed on airline websites, and disclosure is constantly improving. For example, United Airlines, currently the world’s largest carrier, recently introduced a baggage-fee calculator that allows customers to determine how much they’ll pay for their checked luggage.
The committee’s recommendations are nonbinding, and they may have some trouble getting a nod from the next secretary of Transportation if President Obama loses the upcoming election to his Republican opponent. They also face a tedious rule-making process and a likely court challenge by airlines. But consumer groups appear to have some momentum. Airlines balked when they were required to add taxes and mandatory fees to their fares, charging the government with "hiding" taxes and with it, the true cost of air travel. Two carriers sued the government in an effort to overturn the rule. But last month, a Court of Appeals sided with the government. If the move toward price transparency catches on, it could have a ripple effect worldwide, creating a global standard for disclosure and answering the question of how much an airline ticket costs once and for all.
The core of disagreement between regulators and airlines is______.
选项
A、how much airlines should charge for extra fees
B、how many charging items should airlines set
C、how often should airlines improve the fee disclosure
D、how open airlines should be about the pricing system
答案
D
解析
细节题。由题干关键词定位到第三段和第四段。根据第三段最后一句,监管方要求航空公司“todisclose all of their fees before a ticket purchase”,也就是要求在收费方面完全透明,而第四段首句提到,“airlines insist they’re as transparent as they need to be when it comes to fares”,航空公司认为自己已经足够公开透明化,如果监管者再提出进一步要求,就越权了。可见两方争论的焦点在于透明度、公开度,[D]项中的open可看做是transparent的同义转述,故为答案。首先可以排除[A]“航空公司应该收取多少额外费用”和[B]“航空公司应该设置多少收费项目”,这两项在原文中没有事实依据。[C]是对第四段第二句中“disclosure is constantly improving”的误解,这只是航空公司为证明自己已经足够公开的说辞,并不是两方争论的焦点,故也应排除。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/hBYRFFFM
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Onebasicweaknessinaconservationsystembasedwhollyoneconomicmotivesisthatmostmembersofthelandcommunityhaveno
Therehasbeenadiscussionrecentlyontheissueofcommunicationinanewspaper.Writeanessayofabout200wordstothenewsp
Theenergycontainedinrockwithintheearth’scrustrepresentsanearlyunlimitedenergysource,butuntilrecentlycommercial
ThefirsttechnologicalrevolutioninmodernbiologystartedwhenJamesWatsonandFrancisCrickdescribedthestructureofDNA
Whethertoteachyoungchildrenasecondlanguageisdisputedamongteachers,researchersandpushyparents.Ontheonehand,ac
Whethertoteachyoungchildrenasecondlanguageisdisputedamongteachers,researchersandpushyparents.Ontheonehand,ac
(46)Itisknownthatthebrainshrinksasthebodyages,buttheeffectsonmentalabilityaredifferentfrompersontoperson.
AprovenmethodforeffectivetextbookreadingistheSQ3RmethoddevelopedbyFrancisRobinson.Thefirststepistosurvey(th
GeneralWesleyClarkrecentlydiscoveredaholeinhispersonalsecurity—hiscellphone.Aresourcefulblogger,hopingtocall
GeneralWesleyClarkrecentlydiscoveredaholeinhispersonalsecurity—hiscellphone.Aresourcefulblogger,hopingtocall
随机试题
It’snotliquid,gasorsolid.It’snotananimal,aplantoramineral.It’stransparent(透明的),butcanbeseenfromadistance
A.近部选穴B.远部选穴C.对证选穴D.对症选穴下牙痛选大肠经的合谷穴,体现的选穴规律是
酶促反应的初速度()。
以下不属于细胞因子类生物反应调节剂的是
1周岁婴儿,体重6kg,身长70cm。精神萎靡,皮肤弹性差。腹部皮下脂肪0.3cm,肌肉松弛。诊断是
有关克罗恩病,以下哪项是错误的( )
可疑菌痢患者,下列哪项检查是错误的( )。
案情:天津市中级人民法院一审以走私、贩卖毒品罪判处甲和乙死刑、剥夺政治权利终身。甲不服,认为自己是胁从犯提出上诉,天津市高级人民法院经开庭审理,改判甲死刑,缓期二年执行。天津市人民检察院分院认为天津市高级人民法院对该案的改判确有错误。最后此案经依法提出抗诉
一、注意事项1.申论考试是对考生阅读能力、综合分析能力、提出和解决问题能力以及文字表达能力的测试。2.作答参考时限:阅读资料40分钟,作答110分钟。3.仔细阅读给定资料,按照后面提出的“作答要求"作答。4.请在答题卡上作答,在草稿纸上或其他地方作
Itusedtobethatifyouwantedtotravel,youhadtoplanforalongbusortrainride.Butthecarchangedallthat.Thougha
最新回复
(
0
)