Hopper to pay $35 million USD to settle US FTC suit over "hidden fees" US federal regulator says Montréal travel app's previous tech unfairly charged customers. Hopper has agreed to settle a lawsuit with the US Federal Trade Commission over allegedly charging customers hidden fees on its travel booking app. The news: The Montréal travel tech startup has settled a complaint from the US federal regulator for $35 million USD ($49.7 million CAD), which claimed it charged consumers hidden fees and misrepresented the total prices they would pay for its booking services. The complaint, filed on July 2, alleged that Hopper caused consumers "tens of millions of dollars in harm." The company and its US subsidiary must clearly and conspicuously disclose fees, charges, and total payment amount for any transaction. In a statement on Thursday, Hopper said the FTC's allegations concerned former practices that it had implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and discontinued in mid-2023. It added the FTC had no issues with the current Hopper app. From the source: "We decided to settle because the claims at issue are outdated and have no bearing on our business," reads an official statement from Hopper. "Pursuing years of litigation over outdated, ticky-tacky issues would distract us from our current customers and partners - and that is not a distraction we are willing to accept." Following the thread: Founded in 2007, Hopper made its name with an algorithm that predicted the best times to book flights. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, it has since shifted its approach to sell its travel technology and data to enterprise customers through its B2B arm, which now drives more than 90 percent of revenue. The legal case focuses on deals with design decisions Hopper made for its consumer app specifically; Hopper noted that its B2B business is separate and not impacted by the settlement. Final thought: The FTC has been cracking down on "dark patterns" in consumer-facing apps and websites since 2021. These are deceptive design features that might lead a user to take an action they didn't mean to, or make it more difficult to cancel a subscription. In Hopper's case, the FTC took issue with the way the company charged for tips and VIP support fees - by claiming they were optional when they were actually pre-selected for customers. In Canada, dark patterns are often governed under the Competition Act as a deceptive marketing practice. A spokesperson for Canada's Competition Bureau told BetaKit that the agency is aware of the FTC case but cannot confirm whether it has investigated Hopper for confidentiality reasons. OVHcloud: Your cloud. Your rules. Imagine a cloud that gives you the freedom to grow your way - open, sovereign, and free from lock-in.

Journey app Hopper to pay $35M in FTC settlement over 'unfairly' charging hidden charges. Last updated: July 2, 2026 2:01 pm Published: July 2, 2026 Hopper, the journey app recognized for its AI-driven flight and lodge worth predictions, has agreed to a $35 million settlement following a lawsuit introduced by the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC). The lawsuit accused the corporate of deceptive customers by imposing hidden charges and misrepresenting the entire prices of Hopper's providers. The case is one other instance of regulators concentrating on using "dark patterns," or interface designs that manipulate customers into making selections they won't in any other case have made, together with people who conceal expenses, pre-select non-obligatory add-ons, or make it obscure the true price of a service. It follows comparable FTC settlements aimed toward different corporations, like Match, StubHub, neobank Dave, Fortnite, and others. The FTC alleged that Hopper deceived shoppers concerning the advantages of its "VIP Help" and "Value Freeze" providers. Many customers had been led to consider that these options would improve their reserving expertise, solely to seek out themselves dealing with extra prices and restricted entry to buyer help. The FTC additionally discovered that customers had been charged for "Tip" and VIP Help charges that had been offered as non-obligatory, but had been typically pre-selected and hidden throughout the app's interface. Consequently, customers discovered themselves dealing with expenses that they believed they'd not consented to, as these charges had been sometimes solely seen when customers scrolled down on the app display. The allegations lengthen to the "Value Freeze" or "Maintain the Room" providing, which Hopper claimed would enable shoppers to carry their journey reserving worth for a chosen interval. Nevertheless, the FTC notes that the app failed to obviously talk restrictions related to this service. For example, the Value Freeze solely secures the speed as much as a particular restrict and provided that the reserving stays out there. The settlement quantity is ready for use for "client redress," with Hopper now prohibited from misrepresenting any pricing constructions, in response to in the present day's launch. It's required that Hopper clearly disclose all charges, making certain that customers are absolutely conscious of the entire price of any transactions earlier than finishing their bookings. "We determined to settle as a result of the claims at situation are outdated and don't have any bearing on our enterprise," an organization spokesperson mentioned in a supplied assertion to TechCrunch. "Pursuing years of litigation over outdated, ticky-tacky points would distract us from our present prospects and companions... The settlement quantity doesn't replicate the advantage of the claims. It displays our resolution to maneuver ahead." The spokesperson added that, after reviewing tens of millions of firm recordsdata courting again to 2021, the FTC's allegations targeted on "primarily outdated show practices carried out in the course of the pandemic, restricted to the Hopper app, and discontinued by Hopper in mid-2023, previous to the beginning of the FTC's inquiry." Earlier than Hopper, the FTC's most up-to-date crackdown on "junk charges" was its case with StubHub, which agreed to pay $10 million to prospects and alter its ticket worth shows. Booking Holdings settled for $9.5 million after a lawsuit from Texas Lawyer Normal Ken Paxton, which claimed that it misled prospects by displaying low room charges whereas hiding necessary charges till the checkout course of. Hopper launched its journey app again in 2014 and surpassed 120 million lifetime downloads worldwide in 2024. While you buy by way of hyperlinks in its articles, citizennews may earn a small commission. This doesn't have an effect on its editorial independence.

Avelo Airlines has launched Disruption Assistance, a new travel rebooking benefit powered by HTS (Hopper Technology Solutions), available when booking directly through its website and mobile app. The service provides automated solutions for disruptions including same-day delays of two hours or more and cancellations. Customers receive proactive notifications and can use self-serve tools to rebook alternate flights on Avelo or other airlines, or receive a 100% refund of their trip cost whilst keeping their original itinerary. The offering aims to provide greater confidence and control during travel disruptions. Avelo currently operates Boeing Next Generation 737 aircraft and serves over 30 US destinations from four bases. The airline will open a fifth base at North Dallas's McKinney National Airport in late 2026 and become the first US airline to fly Embraer 195-E2s in 2028.