New airline pricing rules go in effect

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI) - The Department of Transportation's new rules on airfare advertising went into effect on Thursday.

Airline ads can no longer exclude most government taxes and fees in their advertised price for a flight.

Now, airliners must disclose the entire price or face fines from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

"This rule brings a lot more transparency to airline passengers and a lot more predictability to their trips.  It was necessary because the airlines have implemented many things which people would consider to be deceptive practices but actually weren't breaking the law.  Now if they do them they'll be breaking the law," says Kate Hanni, President of FlyersRights.org.

For a $200 round trip ticket with a connecting flight, government taxes and fees could add up to as much as $60 to the price of the ticket.

Before Thursday, airlines could market the fare for $200, not including other hidden costs.

The airlines say they're being singled out unfairly.

They argue virtually every other type of business from electronics stores to supermarkets advertise the price of their products before taxes.

What the new rules won't do is prevent airlines from advertising flights at a certain price when only a fraction of the seats are really available at the sale price.