By Rob Lovitt, msnbc.com contributor
Chalk one up for truth in airline advertising: On Nov. 1, Lufthansa will begin including all government taxes and fees in its advertising and marketing materials in the U.S.
The move comes almost three months in advance of new Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations that prohibit airlines from posting seemingly low fares that end up higher after the fees are added in. Originally scheduled to?begin Oct. 24, the new rule now will take effect Jan. 24, 2012.
?We?ve been having a lot of communication with our customers,? said spokesperson Christina Semmel, ?and they said they wanted to see a final, bottom-line price.?
Unfortunately, travelers browsing third-party sites won?t see those prices as the airline is only displaying them in its own advertising for now. That will likely change in January when online travel agencies and other comparison sites will also be required to post full-fare prices.
?Either way, it?s going to happen,? Semmel told msnbc.com. ?We decided to make the jump.?
Not all airlines are being so sanguine. In July, Southwest Airlines filed suit seeking to stop DOT from implementing the rule. A motion to stay the rule was subsequently denied but the suit is ongoing.
Others in the industry, however, are more or less resigned to following Lufthansa?s lead and expect to comply with the rule once it?s implemented.
?We?ve expressed our concerns [to DOT] but they?ve obviously fallen on deaf ears,? said Perry Flint, spokesman for the International Air Transport Association. ?It?s a rule and our member airlines will comply with it.?
More on Overhead Bin
Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. Follow him at Twitter.
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