On Oct. 5, 2016 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) provided another clarification regarding the interpretation of Reg. (EC) No. 261/2004. The case involved an Bulgarian Air Charter flight from Burgas (Bulgaria) to Dresden (Germany). The flight departed as scheduled but made an unscheduled stopover in Prague which caused a delay in …
The IFTTA Law Review 2-2016 is now available online within the members area. It includes a report on the IFTTA North America Conference 2016 by Doug Crozier and an article on the Chinese influence on Tourism in Cuba by John H. Thomas. Enjoy reading!
According to Article 4 para 3 of the Package Travel Directive 1990/314, a consumer who is prevented from proceeding with the package may transfer his booking to another person who satisfies all the conditions applicable to the package but he remains jointly and severally liable to the organiser for the payment of the due balance …
In an opinion delivered on July 28, 2016, CJEU Advocate General Bot has concluded that bird strikes do not fall within the extraordinary circumstances defence currently available to air carriers according to Article 5 para 3 of Reg. (EC) 261/2004. In the Advocate General’s opinion, such incidents are inherent in the normal exercise of the …
CJEU Advocate General: bird strikes do not constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ Read More »
In a recently published judgement, the European Court of Justice has clarfied the rules applying to downgrading of air passagners according to Reg. (EC) No 261/2004. The court held that where a passenger is downgraded on a flight, the price to be taken into account in determining the reimbursement for the passenger affected is the …
CJEU clarifies remdies for downgrading in air travel Read More »
The European Commission has adopted a number of legislative proposals to simplify and improve the common rules on safety of ships carrying passengers in EU waters. The update is a response to lessons learnt, including from accidents, and technological developments. It will, among others, allow immediate access of competent authorities to relevant data in case …
EU Commission adopts proposals to simplify and improve passenger ship safety rules Read More »
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined Air France, Lufthansa, and British Airways for not adequately responding to complaints filed by passengers with disabilities. Air France and Lufthansa were each fined USD 200,000 and British Airways was fined USD 150,000. The airlines were also ordered to cease and desist from future similar violations.The Air …
The European Commission has decided to refer Germany to the Court of Justice of the European Union for its failure to properly apply the special value added tax (VAT) scheme for travel agents, as provided for in the VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC). The scheme aims to simplify and amend the VAT rules applicable to …
EU: Commission refers Germany to Court over VAT rules for travel agents Read More »
The latest edition of the IFTTA Law review is now available online in the members area. It contains an editorial on the new European Package Travel Direcdtive, an article by Rebekah Tanti-Dougall on disruptive air passengers and an article by Uta Stenzel on the German model of consumer conciliation in public transport. Enjoy reading.
The German Civil Supreme Court (BGH) decided that it cannot be regarded an unfair term if an air carrier demands immediate payment of the full ticket fare upon booking. Even though air transport contracts were regarded as service contracts, the general rules on service contracts would only to a small extent characterize the model of …
Germany: air carriers allowed to demand immediate payment of the full fare upon booking Read More »