In a case brought by the Italian Council of State between the Italian competition authority and Ryanair, the European Court of Justice on Thursday 23 April interpreted Regulation 1008/2008, which governs the operation of air services as regards the unavoidable and foreseeable price elements to be included in the initial price offer posted on an airline’s website.
According to case-law, an air carrier must include in its online tenders, from the initial tender, the fare for passenger seats and, separately, unavoidable and foreseeable taxes, charges, surcharges and fees (Cases C-290/16 – see EUROPE 11824/28; C-487/12 – see EUROPE 11003/42; and C-112/11). However, optional price supplements must be clearly communicated at the beginning of the booking procedure.
The Court considers that the online check-in fee is optional and need not be included in the initial offer, if it is possible to check in baggage free of charge at the airport. However, if there are only paid online registration methods available, the related fees are unavoidable and foreseeable and must be displayed in the initial offer.
Concerning VAT, the Court considers that VAT on the price of national flights must be included in the initial tender.
Finally, charges levied in the event of payment by a credit card other than that approved by the air carrier are unavoidable and foreseeable and must be displayed in the initial offer. This situation depends on Ryanair’s commercial policy, which reserves the free payment service for certain privileged consumers.
See the judgment: https://bit.ly/2VSJ5T6 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)