On 15 January 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the "ECJ") further strengthened the protection of consumers when booking flights online. The ECJ held that the final price to be paid for flights must be indicated upfront and at all times, and that this final price must be shown for all flights which correspond to the consumer's selection criteria (ECJ, 15 January 2015, case C-573/13, Air Berlin plc & Co. Luftverkehrs KG v. Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände - Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e. V.).
The judgment was delivered pursuant to a preliminary reference from the German Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) relating to the online selling practices of airline company Air Berlin. The Air Berlin online booking system breaks down the flight prices and shows (i) the air fare; (ii) the taxes, charges and fuel surcharges (both individually and collectively); (iii) the service charge; and (iv) in a separate box, the total price. However, only the final price of the selected flight is shown at any given time. This means that the final prices of all possible flights corresponding to a consumer's selection criteria are not shown together, which makes comparing the final prices of various flights difficult.
A German consumer organisation challenged these selling practices on the basis of Regulation 1008/2008 of 24 September 2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community (the "Regulation"). Two questions were posed to the ECJ on its interpretation. First, whether the Regulation requires that the full price is shown immediately at the beginning of the booking process or whether it is sufficient to show the final price once the flight has been selected. Secondly, whether the requirements of the Regulation are satisfied by indicating the final price for selected flights or whether the full price for all possible flights needs to be shown.
The ECJ framed its judgment in the context of consumer protection and relied on the Regulation which provides that price transparency must enable consumers to compare prices for air services from different carriers effectively.
Regarding the first question, the ECJ affirmed that the final price to be paid must be indicated "at all times", which includes at the beginning of the booking process. There is thus no distinction between the moments when the price is indicated for the first time, when the consumer selects a particular flight or when the contract is being concluded. This ensures transparency and information regarding price.
In response to the second question, the ECJ declared that the obligation to indicate the final price applies to all flights which correspond to the consumer's selection, and not only to the flight specifically selected. This allows consumers to compare the prices for different flights.
In practice, this judgment means that when booking flights online, consumers will no longer have to click between various flights in order to determine the final price of each such flight. The final price for all possible flights will have to be shown upfront.
