Cases

According to Article 17 of the MC, an air carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking. In Saks v Air France, the US Supreme Court has defined the term "accident" as "an unexpected or unusual event or happening that is external to the passenger" and caused the injury.

The plaintiffs had booked tickets for a Lufthansa flight from Hamburg via Frankfurt to Miami and back from Los Angeles via Frankfurt to Hamburg. The ticket price was EUR 2.766,32 and according to the tariff, the ticket was non-refundable (except applicable taxes only). Because of a disease, the plaintiffs cancelled their tickets and claimed back the ticket price. Lufthansa only refunded taxes of EUR 133,56 each. The plaintiffs filed a law suit for the difference which was dismissed by the first instance court (AG Köln) and their appeal was dismissed as well.

Editors: V. Franceschelli, Professor, University of Milan Bicocca ; F. Morandi, Professor, University of Sardinia; C. Torres, Professor Adjunct, Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies [ESHTE].

Publisher: ESHTE/INATEL, Portugal, 2017. 596 pages.

Reviewer: Hermes Navarro del Valle, Chief of Tourism Investment; Costa Rica Tourism Board, San José, Costa Rica; Member of United Nations World Tourism Organisation [UNWTO] Working Group on the draft Convention on the Protection of Tourists etc.

Effecitve by January 1, 2017, an amendment to the Austrian Unfair Competition Act (UWG) introduced a ban on 'best price' clauses for hotel booking portals. These clauses were qualified as an agressive business practice. According to such clauses, a hotel operator who wanted to sell rooms through online portals had to accept not to offer these rooms for a lower price or at more favourable conditions though any other distribution channel including the hotel's own website.