Calls for fair flight deals have come from trading standards

West Sussex Council is spearheading a drive for fair deals, spokesman Bruce Treloar said. He gave two examples of the problem, which he found on the web.

He said a £10 deal claimed to include charges but charges were later added. Another £234 deal ended up as £358.

The council was working with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which will consult airlines and firms, he said.

It's time-consuming, frustrating and an outright rip-off David Gleave

The £234 deal for two people to fly to Turkey showed a price of £358 after the dates were selected, and "a massive list of supplements" was then added, Mr Treloar claimed.

They included fuel supplements of £80 per person, a "late booking charge" of £30 per person, an "adult supplement" of £28 per person, air passenger duty [government tax] of £10 per person, and an air passenger levy of £10 per person, he said.

And the principal trading standards officer for West Sussex said an air safety investigator who flies as a passenger up to 300 times a year had told the council he still gets caught out.

David Gleave, from Crawley, told trading standards officers he took up one "free" flight offer, but ended paying £225 in "extras" such as fuel tax, insurance and government taxes.

"It's time-consuming, frustrating and an outright rip-off," Mr Gleave said.

In June, the OFT threatened legal action against some airlines over "misleading pricing".

The airlines said they were working towards compliance.