Motion for a Resolution by European Parliament Mathieu Grosch, Artur Zasada on behalf of the PPE GroupSaïd El Khadraoui on behalf of the S&D; Group Dirk Sterckx on behalf of the ALDE Group Michael Cramer, Frieda Brepoels on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group B7-0153/2009 European Parliament resolution on passenger compensation ...

Meglena Kuneva, the leaving commissioner for Consumer Policy held a press conference regarding the "Revision of the Package Travel Directive" (see below)Along the way: The new designated commissioner for Consumer Policy is John Dalli (MT) and for Transport (and as VicePresident) Siim Kallas (EE) Press conference speaking points Brussels, 26 ...

In proceedings concerning a lawsuit accusing the airline of hacking into a computer of a passenger advocacy organization (see previous post), Delta has asked the federal court to dismiss the claim on the grounds that the plaintiff, FlyersRights.org founder Kate Hanni, had made the allegedly stolen emails public by forwarding ...

Australia's largest pleasure cruise company, Carnival Australia, a subsidiary of global Carnival Corp., demands that young adults aged 18 to 21 are accompanied by a parent or guardian if they book one of a range of South Pacific cruises from Australian ports from November through January. The policy aims to ...

In joined cases C‑402/07 and C‑432/07, the European Court of Justice today ruled as follows: 1. Articles 2(l), 5 and 6 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event ...

Legislation adopted by the Region of Sardinia introduced, as from 2006, a regional tax on stopovers for tourist purposes by aircraft used for the private transport of persons or by pleasure boats over fourteen metres in length. The tax is payable by natural or legal persons who have their tax ...

Plaintiff and his fiancé wanted to go on vacation in late October 2005 and asked their travel agency for a destination of fair weather. The agency inter alia offered Yucatan/Mexico which they chose and booked a package tour for Oct. 16 to 30. When they left for Yucatan on Oct. ...

In a decision dated July 9, 2009, German Supreme Court (BGH) held that German Courts have jurisdiction over over an airline in another member state in regard to a law suit filed by a consumer protection association to cease in order to interdict the use of unfair terms in General ...

Florida's Office of Attorney General has sued Expedia and Orbitz, the leading internet travel companies, claiming that these companies violated state law by failing to remit the appropriate amount of taxes on hotel room rentals. The lawsuit states that while Expedia and Orbitz have been collecting taxes from consumers, they ...

Attorney General Bill McCollum on Nov. 2nd announced that his office has filed a lawsuit and has requested an emergency injunction against two related South Florida timeshare resale marketing companies. Universal Marketing Solutions, Creative Vacation Solutions, and owner/manager Jennifer Kirk allegedly collected over $4 million in marketing fees on a ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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: ...

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) ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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; ...

FlyersRights.org sued Delta and an FAA contractor on Tuesday, alleging that the companies conspired to derail the group's efforts to persuade Congress to enact a passenger rights bill that would limit tarmac delays to three hours.The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Houston, alleges that Delta and the contractor, ...

Plaintiff had entered into a timesharing contract through an agent whom he (also) had assigned himself. The agent had falsely stated plaintiff's usage rights would be safeguarded by registration in the land register. Trusting the agent, plaintiff didn't read the contract carefully. As there was no registration of his rights ...

In a newly issued notice, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reminded airlines that they may not arbitrarily limit compensation for passengers who purchase necessities because their baggage is lost or delayed. A number of carriers have policies stating that they will reimburse passengers only for buying necessities purchased more ...

MEPs back compensation for grounded passengers:If your airline goes bankrupt and leaves you stranded what are your legal rights? Members of the Parliament's Transport Committee want grounded passengers to have access to a special compensation fund. In the last decade almost 100 airlines across the European Union have gone bankrupt ...

The Alaska Cruise Association filed a federal lawsuit challenging Alaska's head tax on the approximately 1 million cruise-ship passengers who arrive in the state each year. The lawsuit is seeking relief from the $50 fee imposed on each passenger arriving aboard large cruise ships, a fee which was approved by ...

You can find the press release in German over here (The judgement has not been published yet!):and a translation in English over here:

Germans Highest Court (Bundesgerichsthof) decided yesterday on the complaint of a consumer organisation (Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen)against the airline Germanwings, with the omission of the use of a clause within general terms and conditions.Citation: BGH 17.09.2009, Xa ZR 40/08The "charging order" ("Entgeltordnung") stated, inter alia:"Fee for a reversal booking operation is: € ...

The Senate voted Wednesday to permit passengers on the Amtrak passenger railroad to transport handguns in their checked baggage. The proposal, approved by a 68-30 vote, seeks to give Amtrak riders rights comparable to those enjoyed by airline passengers, who are permitted to transport firearms provided that they declare they ...

Passengers on the Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Paris began shouting out and crying as they thought their plane was about to ditch. The crew accidentally played out a recorded emergency landing warning in French as the plane headed south over the Irish Sea. Around 70 French passengers were ...

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a revised global financial forecast predicting airline losses totaling $11 billion in 2009. This is $2 billion more than the previously projected $9 billion loss due to rising fuel prices and exceptionally weak yields. Industry revenues for the year are expected to fall ...