News

On Sep. 21, 2011, the Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has received a super-complaint from Consumer Focus about the cost of obtaining foreign currency and overseas use of credit and debit cards. Consumer Focus identified three features which it has called on the OFT to investigate:the charges applied by some banks and credit card providers […]

On the occasion of World Tourism Day on September 27, 2011, the Seychelles Tourism Board in partnership with the GOS-UNDP-GEF Program Coordination Unit has officially launched the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label with the unveiling of the label’s logo.The label will be the Seychelles first ever sustainable tourism certification system to encourage the hotels and other

Results of the 2010 sweep websites selling tickets to cultural and sporting events are positive, the Commission announced on 29 Sept. 2011: 88% of the websites checked for breach of EU consumer rules are now in line compared to only 40% in 2010. This sector was chosen after European Consumer Centres received numerous complaints. In

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) on the occasion of World Tourism Day on Sep. 27 urged governments to recognize the vast economic and social contribution of travel and tourism – particularly as a driver of sustainable economic growth and revival. The World Travel & Tourism Council was formed over 20 years ago by

The U.S. Travel Association (USTA) and the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) are supporting new legislation just introduced by Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), H.R. 3039, the “Welcoming Business Travelers and Tourists to America Act of 2011” that would address problems with the U.S. visa system that are currently discouraging international visitors from doing business

The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined Virgin Atlantic USD 50,000 for deceptive online advertising. The DOT said that Virgin Atlantic displayed air fares, but without government taxes and fees. To see taxes and fees, consumers had to scroll down to the bottom of the page to read the fine print.That violated DOT rules requiring

On 7 September 2011, the French National Assembly has adopted a finance bill which includes a new 2% tax on hotel stays where rates exceed EUR 200 per night. The bill is subject to ratification by the French Senate. Once ratified the new tax shall be due as from 1 November 2011.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed a regulation that would require airlines to make their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities and ensure that their ticket agents do the same. DOT also proposed that airlines make automated airport kiosks at U.S. airports accessible to passengers with disabilities. U.S. airports that jointly own, lease or

I am happy to announce (on behalf of Jens Karsten) an upcoming conference organised by theLeuven Travel & Transport Law­‐Forum (LTTL-Forum):EUPassengerLaw–Towards2020Leuven (Belgium), December 6, 2011Emphasising inter alia the following topics:Lookingthroughtheashcloud–Aglimpseattheexpectationsoftoday’spassengersAmobilesocietyisgettingorganised:Intermodality&UserrightsforallmodesoftransportUserrightsintomorrow’stransportUnfaircommercialpracticesintravelPassengerlawdeterminantsforanewPackageTravelDirectivePresentations inter alia byEvelyneTerryn,Professor,UniversityofLeuvenSaïdElKhadraoui,MEPSiimKallas,Vice-PresidentoftheEuropeanCommissionMoniqueGoyens,DirectorGeneral,BEUCChristopherIrwin,Vice-President, EuropeanPassengersFederationPabloMendesdeLeon,PresidentoftheEuropeanAirLawAssociationSebastianDreyer,AirBerlinSalvatoreD’Acunto,HeadofUnit A4,DGMOVEThe draft programme can be found here:LTTL-Forum

Preliminary ruling before ECJ lodged by Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona (national reference: QP/07238-A9, decision as of June 15, 2011): C-410/11 (Pedro Espada Sánchez ea/Iberia) Questions referred (1)Must the limit of 1 000 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, laid down in Article 22 of the Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage