Some airlines use so-called "dark patterns" in the design of their websites to push additional services. These are hidden tricks

Some airlines use so-called "dark patterns" in the design of their websites to push additional services. These are hidden tricks that force passengers to spend more than they had planned. For example, services such as seat selection or insurance may be automatically added to your booking, and options to remove them are not immediately available.

Today, let's "meet" three "tricky" airlines.


🥉 3rd place: Wizz Air
This is a popular airline in Cyprus because of its low prices and wide choice of routes. The airline starts "cheating" already at the stage of fare selection. The most expensive fares are offered first: Plus, Go, Smart, and only then Basic. Fares are sorted by descending price, and the color of the buttons draws attention to the more expensive options. The buttons do not show the full price of the ticket, but only the difference from the cheapest Basic fare. The Basic fare is on the edge, takes up the least space and has the palest color.
Even if you choose Basic, on the next step you will be offered to change to a more expensive fare by showing a huge button. To keep Basic, you have to scroll down the page and click "Continue". When choosing checked baggage, you will be lured by big buttons, and if you don't need baggage, you have to check a small box "I don't need checked baggage". Hand luggage, too, is suggested to be purchased with a big button and bold font. Paid seats are also highlighted, and seats closer to the tail of the plane are offered, although for the same price you can choose seats closer to the beginning and exit. In the next step you will be added insurance, to avoid buying it you have to find a colorless "No insurance" button. The Wizz website also often adds a commission to the ticket price before payment.

🥈 2nd place: Flyone
Flyone is convenient because it offers flights between Cyprus and Russia with one connection in Armenia as a single ticket. You don't have to worry about connection or baggage claim in Yerevan. At the stage of fare selection everything is fair: first the cheapest fare is offered - Standard, then Loyal and then the most expensive Advantage. The buttons show the real final price. But then the tricks begin: the company adds paid services such as baggage guarantee, paid seat, priority notification, on-time arrival guarantee and SMS itinerary. If you have chosen a round-trip route, you have to disable the imposed services in the tab of each segment, which is not always obvious.

🥇1 place: Azimut
Although the company does not fly directly to Cyprus now, it is often used for flights between Yerevan and Russia. At the stage of choosing a fare, everything is fair: at first the favorable fares Light, Flexible and Normal are shown. However, if you choose not the most expensive fare, Azimut starts offering to upgrade it with the help of a bright red button. To stay on the cheap fare, you have to press a small pale cross in the upper right corner - an action that is not at all obvious.
The most interesting thing about Azimut is the additional services that are connected automatically and that can only be noticed by the increased price. The airline adds in-flight protection, flight cancellation insurance, doctor on the way, extra hand luggage, SMS-informing, hot drink and chicken fillet sandwich (hello, vegans). To turn it all off, you have to go into each service and change the quantity from 1 to 0, sometimes repeating this for the return flight.

Bottom line: Be sure to check the services you're using before you pay, and keep an eye out for changes in ticket prices during the booking process.


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