Dark patterns are deceptive tactics that manipulate airline customers into paying more than they plan. These psychological tricks can result in a traveler having higher costs as much as double.

These manipulation techniques can occur at various stages of the booking process and include:

• False scarcity may appear as “Only 2 seats left” to create artificial urgency for higher-priced fare options. Making a quick decision does not allow time to compare prices.
• Artificial urgency with countdown timers ticking to imply that you only have a few minutes to guarantee your fare or finalize your booking.
• Fake social pop-ups manipulate you to think that many other travelers are currently considering the same flight. This tactic implies that if you don’t book soon, someone else will take the available seat.
• Aggressive pop-ups involve prompts at checkout that push upgrades with a prominent, visually appealing button. Remember, the option you initially selected is probably perfectly suitable for your needs. 
• Bait-and-switch pricing starts with an attractive “bargain fare” without details related to airline, flight times, or restrictions. After you make payment, you realize the schedule or restrictions are no bargain. 
• FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) warnings are created with intimidating red boxes to make the least expensive fares sound terrible. The fear-mongering notes point out restrictions and inconvenience to create anxiety and encourage paying extra to avoid the imagined hassles. 
• Forced choice prompts require that you clearly accept or decline add-ons like travel insurance.  A hurried traveler may click “yes” to quickly move forward resulting in an unexpected higher cost.

Actions that can help to avoid these deceptive tactics that result in higher costs include:

• Browsing in “incognito mode” to prevent an airline from tracking your search history and possibly raising prices based on your interest for a specific flight.  
• Refreshing your search results to clear any fake warnings and timers.
• Using “meta-search” engines (such as Skyscanner, Kayak, Google Flights) for obtaining fare information without upsells and manipulation tactics.
• Checking-in online later in the process when better seats might be available for no upcharge.
• Reviewing the total cost, not just the basic fare, to make sure the bottom line (after fees and taxes) is still the best deal.

For additional information on travel dark patterns, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

• Have students talk to others or use AI to obtain suggestions for getting the best airfares and bargains when buying other goods and services.
• Have students create a podcast with tips to warn others of deceptive tactics that can result in paying higher airfares.

Discussion Questions 

1. What tactics discussed in this article have you observed or experienced when making an online purchase?
2. Describe actions a person might take to avoid deceptive online marketing tactics.