Most airline websites break consumer laws, says Commission

The European Commission pioneered a new kind of enforcement with its ticket investigation, co-ordinating authorities in 15 member states to check 400 websites in the same week in September. Over half showed 'irregularities'.

"During the same week at the end of September, participating national authorities used a common methodology and pre-defined search terms such as "air-ticket, cheap flight, travel, last minute, air miles, fly cheap" to identify and investigate web sites selling air tickets, targeting consumers in their countries," said a Commission statement. "Hundreds of sites were scanned by national officials to identify those which appear to be in breach of EU law."

The laws in question are the European directives on Misleading Advertising and Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts.

Of the 447 sites checked 226 had irregularities that would be followed up by national consumer protection agencies or by a special EU cross border consumer protection body.

"Consumers deserve clear and fair pricing and no hidden surprises in the small print of contract terms," said EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. "The figures released today show that there is a substantial problem in the industry. This is a European issue which requires Europe-wide action."

EU rules say that when a ticket price is advertised it should be the full, actual price, and not subject to additional charges such as taxes or booking fees. Those costs should not be added later after consumers have been enticed by a low original price, the Commission said.

It also said that consumers should not be lured by a cheap offer only to find very limited tickets available at that price.

The Commission also pointed out that the terms of the contract must be clear and fair. "Unfair practices include mandatory insurance attached to an offer, or where consumers have to explicitly opt-out of an insurance clause, rather than opt-in," said the Commission statement. "Contract terms and conditions must be available in the language of the consumer."

The consumer authorities involved will contact all the operators of websites which have broken the rules and will ask them to explain the irregularities or change the way they do business. The Commission said that those who refuse would face legal action, which could include the shutting down of the websites.

The Commission said that the websites targeted by the 'sweep' included those of Europe's leading airlines as well as budget carriers and independent ticket sales agencies.

Belgian sites were particularly affected, with 46 of the 48 checked there containing irregularities. Nine of Italy's 11 sites contained them. None of Austria's 20 sites contained any irregularities.

Commissioner Kuneva said that the Commission was serious about taking action to protect consumers. "Today I am issuing the strongest possible warning to companies to take swift action to put their house in order. Once the January deadline expires I will not hesitate to go further and name and shame companies which are still breaking the law," said Kuneva.