Brussels, 23/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - Low-cost airlines now feel under threat from the practices carried out by online travel agencies. The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) is calling on the European authorities and consumer protection agencies to stop “turning a blind eye” to the widespread, unfair pricing practices of numbers of online travel agencies, such as those that display lower prices than those offered by the airlines. This practice involves luring passengers into booking a flight on these online travel sites but making them pay a total ticket price that is ultimately higher than that set by the airline itself.
The low-cost airlines say that they are concerned by the lack of transparency in this practice, given that the inevitable costs are not mentioned in the initial offer. The low-cost airlines also believe that customers are not always aware that they are not making a purchase on the official site of the airline and that generally these travellers pay a price that is ultimately higher than if they had made a direct reservation on the airline booking site.
ELFAA therefore wants national and European consumer protection agencies to denounce this procedure and put pressure on the European Commission in this connection. Low-cost airlines want this question to be tackled “urgently” in order to put a stop to the discrimination identified and to help protect consumers. (MD)