Consumers ripped off by misleading online airline tickets: EU

by Leigh Thomas Thu May 8, 1:45 PM ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Consumers are getting ripped off by misleading information for airline tickets sold online, the EU's top consumer protection official said Thursday, promising a crackdown if the industry fails to clean up its act.

An EU probe found that one in three ticket booking sites in 13 participating countries have breached consumer law and that regulators had to pursue them to enforce the rules.

"It is unacceptable that one in three consumers going to book a plane ticket online is being ripped off or misled and confused," EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said.

"We will need to see credible evidence of improvement to clean up these sales and marketing practices within the airline sector by May 1 next year or we will be left with no choice but to intervene," she added.

With the EU investigation due be wrapped up by May 2009, the industry would remain under tough scrutiny for signs of improvement over the next year before it was decided whether further action was needed.

Kuneva said that most countries participating in the investigation had kept the names of offending airlines and tour operators to themselves and that only Sweden and non-EU member Norway had passed that information on.

Of the names given in statements by those two countries, low-cost carrier Ryanair was the only airline on both lists while Norwegian authorities said Austrian Airlines and Finland's Blue 1 had broken consumer rules.

Other offenders were third-parties such as tour operators selling tickets online.

Giving an insight into the problems facing consumers, Norwegian authorities found that Ryanair included the right to priority boarding as a pre-chosen option and charged a fee of 50 Norwegian kroner (6.4 euros, 9.8 dollars) for it.

Similarly, Blue 1 included insurance in case of cancellation as a pre-chosen option for customers booking tickets online.

Norwegian authorities found that Austrian Airlines had a booking fee of 100 kroner per ticket that was not included in the advertised prices on the front page of the airline's website.

Kuneva said that misleading prices were the most common problem on ticket booking sites, followed by unfair contract terms.

Another big problem was that advertised offers were not available.

She said that the booking problems facing consumers online were rampant across the industry, with small and big airlines alike guilty.

Advising how to avoid getting ripped off, Kuneva said consumers should "compare final offers, be vigilant, especially about pre-checked boxes and complain."

She stressed the importance of complaining as being essential for authorities to gather information and build cases against companies.

While welcoming the commission's interest in online ticket booking, the BEUC European consumers association said the offending companies should be named and shamed.

"The commission has done part of the work by underlining the continued presence of unfair practices in the sector of online sales of airline tickets," BEUC director general Monique Goyens said.

"We will be asking our members to go further and to divulge, if necessary, the names of the companies in the wrong," she added.