News

Contrary to settled jurisdiction of Commercial Court Vienna, Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) in a recently published decision held that compensation for loss of holiday enjoyment would not depend on a certain percentage of price reduction granted for malperformance. Commercial Court Vienna had usually only granted compensation for loss of holiday enjoyment in cases were malperformance […]

Greek court “Arios Pagos” has filed a reference for preliminary ruling on wether the mere installation of television sets by a hotelier in hotel rooms and their connection to the central antenna installed in the hotel, without any other action, intermediation or intervention by the hotelier, constituted communication of the work to the public within

A military investigation into Brazil’s deadliest air disaster reached no conclusion on blame, but officials said Saturday that pilot error rather than mechanical failure was the more likely cause. A separate police investigation into the 2007 jetliner crash that killed 199 people blamed government and airline officials and recommended charges against 10 people — a

A first hotel in space will be open for business and accepting tourists by 2012 after an anonymous billionaire space enthusiast granted $3billion to finance the project. The Space Resort will charge 3 million euros for a three-night stay and eight-week training course on a tropical island before the trip.Source: dailymail.co.uk; find article here>>.

The report, which will be presented by the Norwegian Ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon, is the result of a year long investigation by 11 national enforcement authorities (led by Norway). The in-depth study found that airlines are frequently including parts of their basic operational costs (handling charges, fuel charges, booking fees) into what appears to be

The U.S. federal government is removing HIV/AIDS from the list of communicable diseases that can keep a foreign visitor or immigrant from getting a visa or entering the U.S. Termination of the ban which has been in effect since 1987 will become effective by Jan. 4, 2010.Source: Travel Weekly; find article here>>.

Next Friday, November 6th, the Polytechnic of Beja, in Portugal, will hold an International Seminar on Tourism Law.Organized with the support of the University of the Balearic Island, in Spain, the event will be focused on the regulation of hospitality, in Portugal and Spain.The event counts with presentations by some of the most known lecturers

Continental Airlines alleged that nine pilots obtained “sham” divorces from their spouses for the purpose of withdrawing pension funds early. However, US District Judge Gray H. Miller held that ERISA, the federal statute governing pensions, does not authorize corporate human resources departments to second-guess the validity of a lawful family court divorce judgments. The pilots

The European Consumer Consultative Group (ECCG), the Commission’s main forum to consult national and European consumer organisations, on Oct. 6 published a prelimniary opinion on the Commission Proposal for a Directive on consumer rights.Interestingly, ECCG does not believe the minimum harmonisation approach of the current directives has genuinely created barriers to cross-border trade and feels

From Oct. 1st All Nippon Airways has started to ask passengers to use the toilet before boarding, to reduce carbon emissions. If only half of the passenger followed the advice, the airline hopes that the weight saved will lead to a five-tonne reduction in carbon emissions over a month.Source: telegraph.co.uk; find article here>>.