Cases

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UK: Virgin Atlantic looses dispute over flat bed airline seat patent

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 6 September, 2013 - 12:08

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd sought to recover damages exceeding £49,000,000 for the infringement of its flat bed airline seat patent. However, the Technical Board of Appeal ("TBA") of the European Patent Office ("EPO") found that in the form in which the patent was originally granted the relevant claims were invalid because they had been anticipated by prior art and therefore has retrospectively amended the patent so as to remove with effect from the date of grant all the claims said to have been infringed.

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USA: New Jersey judge dismisses hotel waitresses' gender discrimination claim

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 6 September, 2013 - 10:01

A group of 22 waitresses of the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City filed a law suit for gender discrimination. The hotel explicitly hires cocktail waitresses based on appearance and requires them to meet and maintain certain weight standards and wear short dresses while male servers are not held to the same standards. However, a New Jersey judge dismissed these claims and concluded that the plaintiffs knew what they were getting themselves into, and that the hotel had been clear about the fact that personal appearance was a key component of the job.

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Canada: CTA decides on overbooking - and finds European compensation system unreasonable

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 6 September, 2013 - 08:46

On December 12, 2011, Gábor Lukács filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) alleging that Air Canada’s practice of overselling domestic flights and certain domestic tariff provisions governing denied boarding compensation appearing in Air Canada’s Tariff are unreasonable. He requested the CTA to:

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U.S. Court: American citizens have a constitutionally protected right to travel by air

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 5 September, 2013 - 16:05

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched the case before a U.S. District Court in Oregon on behalf of 13 plaintiffs who are on the U.S. government’s secretive no-fly list. The plaintiffs, who include four U.S. military veterans, have never been told why they are on the list or given a reasonable opportunity to get off it. All 13 have sought redress through the Department of Homeland Security's Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP), but to no avail.

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USA: DOT fines ticket agents for code-share disclosure violations

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 30 August, 2013 - 15:02

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) fined three ticket agents for violating the Department’s rules on disclosure of code-share flights. DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office made telephone calls to a number of agents during January and February of 2013 and inquired about booking certain flights. During these calls, the reservations agents for all three companies failed to disclose that the flights were being operated under code-share arrangements.

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German court requests ECJ preliminary ruling with regard to passport data

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 20 August, 2013 - 08:28

The German Verwaltungsgerichtshof Baden-Württemberg has filed a reference for preliminary ruling to the ECJ regarding interpretation of Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States. The reference includes the following questions:

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UK: OFT consults on proposed hotel booking commitments

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 20 August, 2013 - 07:46

The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) opened a consultation on commitments proposed by Booking.com B.V. (Booking.com), Expedia Inc (Expedia) and InterContinental Hotels Group plc (IHG), designed to address its competition concerns in relation to the online offering of room only hotel accommodation bookings by Online Travel Agents (OTAs).

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Canada: Federal Court of Appeal decides on exclusivity of Montreal Convention liabiliy rules

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 9 August, 2013 - 10:10

Pursusant to the Official Languages Act, Canadians have the right to communicate with federal institutions in either of the two official languages English and French. Air Canada is subject to this act and therefore must provide services in both official languages.

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German Supreme Court asks ECJ for interpretation of article 12 of Reg. 261/2004

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 7 August, 2013 - 16:01

In a recent reference for ECJ preliminary ruling, the German Supreme Court (BGH) has asked for an interpreation of article 12 of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation 261/2004. This article provides that the Regulation shall apply without prejudice to a passenger's rights to further compensation but that the compensation granted under this Regulation may be deducted from such further compensation.

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Austrian Supreme Court: "bad weather" not enough to release air carrier from compensation for cancellation

Submitted by Michael Wukoschitz on 7 August, 2013 - 15:22

In a recently published decision, the Austrian Supreme Court has held that although bad weather can be an indication for "extraordinary circumstances" but doesn't itself constitute such circumstances. The carrier has to prove that despite adverse weather conditions it took all reasonable measures to avoid a flight cancellation. Such measures could include re-routing of the flight to another airport close by or postponing the flight to wait for an improvement of weather conditions.

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