The plaintiff, an Irish low cost carrier, exclusively sells tickets through its own website or its call center in order to keep the fares low and avoid customers being charged with any service fees by third parties. To book a flight on the website it is required to accept the ...

Cruise Lines International Association(CLIA) and the European Cruise Council(ECC) unveiled three additional cruise safety policies to address issues related to lifejacket stowage on newly-constructed ships, the securing of heavy objects onboard ships, and the synchronization of bridge operating procedures within commonly owned and operated fleets. The two cruise organizations claim ...

In the two cases decided by the German Supreme Court (BGH) recently, the plaintiffs each had booked long haul flights with non Commnunity carriers. In both cases the transportation consisted of two segments, a feeder flight departing from the EU to a non EU hub and a connecting flight departing ...

Shortly before the start of the registration for ".eu" domains, the plaintiff who was not active in the accomodation business had registered a mixed figurative and verbal trademark "HOTEL" which was only admitted because of the distinctive graphic design. Apart from that, the plaintiff had registered 30 to 40 generic ...

In its judgement of 25 Oct. 2012 in case C-559/11, the Court of the European Union has held that Articles 306 to 310 of VAT Directive must be interpreted as meaning that where, in the context of a tourist service provided to a tourist in return for an all-inclusive price ...

The plaintiffs, domiciled in Germany, had rented a holiday home in Belgium from a Danish tour operator (the defendant). They had several complaints about the condition of the home and claimed for a price reduction. Based on the consumer forum pursuant to Articles 15 and 16 of the Brussels I-Regulation ...

In today's judgement in joined cases C-581/10 - Nelson and C-629/10 TUI Travel Plc, the ECJ has reconfirmed its much disputed Sturgeon decision extending the claim for fixed compensation (which Reg. 261/2004 explictily only provides for passengers whose flight was cancelled) to passengers of delayed flights who reach their final ...

The Russell family booked a holiday package to Spain. At the time of booking they made clear that they were not seasoned travellers and specifically requested accommodation which was suitable for young children because they took along their 4 year old daughter. They were dulyreassured. At the hotel they were ...

The US Travel Agent Arbiter has completed his project to Digitize all substantive decisions with key words such as “reasonable care” or “fiduciary duties”. They are available from the TAAP Hqs at 9401 Battle St, Manassas, Va USA 20110 or by phone 703-530-9002.Reported to IFTTA by Al Anolik

The Single European Sky, the flagship project to create a single European airspace – tripling capacity and halving air traffic costs – is "not delivering". Vice-President Siim Kallas, European Commissioner for transport, announced his intention to present new legislative proposals in Spring 2013 to accelerate implementation, as well as taking ...

The plaintiff booked two flight tickets through an internet booking form on the airline's website. There was a note in the booking form saying "no name change permitted after booking. name has to comply with passenger's ID card". For the first ticket the plaintiff filled in his own name whereas ...

The plaintiffs, both Austrian residents domiciled in Bludesch (Austrian Province of Vorarlberg), had booked a holiday package to Egypt organized by an Austrian tour operator located in Vienna. The booking was made online through the website of a German travel agency. By mistake of either the tour operator or the ...

On Oct. 4, 2012, the ECJ has published two judgements in denied boarding cases. In both judgements, the ECJ held that the concept of ‘denied boarding' pursuant to Reg. (EC) 261/2004 relates not only to cases of overbooking but also to those concerning other grounds, such as operational reasons.The first ...

On June 29, 2012, the German Landgericht Frankfurt am Main has lodged a new refrence for preliminary ruling to the ECJ on the following question:Is Article 2(j) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004  to be interpreted, with regard to the 'reasonable grounds' mentioned therein, to the effect that 'reasonable grounds' ...

A lawsuit against Carnival Corp. stemming from the Costa Concordia accident was dismissed Sept. 28 in Florida. The judge stated it should be refiled in Italy. About 1,000 businesses on the island of Giglio, where the Costa ship capsized, moved to sue Carnival in Miami, where it is headquartered, instead ...

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of an action brought by the estate of a passenger against the operator of a cruise ship on which the passenger died after contracting a bacterial infection. The dismissal was made on the basis of the forum-selection clause in ...

The Australian High court has ruled on 7 September 2012 that Indonesian national airline Garuda isn't immune from legal action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Since 2008, the ACCC has been pursuing a number of airlines, including Garuda in relation to alleged price fixing and anti-competitive conduct ...

The new law (AB 2354), which takes effect Jan. 1, 2013, permits travel agents to offer and disseminate travel insurance under the license of the “limited lines” insurance producer they work with, as long as certain consumer protections are followed. Before the law takes effect, the insurance commissioner will establish ...

The Bulgarian Parliament is about to enact a new tourism law and has adopted a draft at first reading. The purposes of the draft law are: to ensure a sustainable development of tourism and for a competitive tourism industry; to further the development of niche areas of tourism, such as ...

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a complaint filed by passengers against a cruise ship operator that alleges specific facts that, if proven, would sustain a finding of negligence is sufficient to withstand a motion for dismissal. In the instant case, plaintiffs alleged that an ...

TripAdvisor.com provides information on various hotels, resorts and restaurants worldwide. Visitors to TripAdvisor's website can review these businesses by responding to surveys or post comments about their personal experiences. Based on these reviews, TripAdvisor compiles and publishes rankings, categorizing the businesses listed. In 2011 a ranking of "dirtiest hotels" identified ...

Upon reference of the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH), the CJEU has held in its judgement of Sep. 6, 2012 in Case C-190/11 (Mühlleitner) that the consumer's possibility of bringing proceedings before the courts of his Member State against a trader domiciled in another Member State is not subject to the ...

On August 28, 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a request for comments on current policy, guidance, and procedures that aircraft operators (ranging from pilots of general aviation aircraft up to and including air carrier certificate holders at the major airlines) use when determining if passenger use of portable ...

Following enforcement action of the U.K. Office of Fair Trading (OFT), 12 airlines have agreed to include debit card surcharges in the headline price rather than surprise consumers at the end of the booking process. Any surcharges for paying by credit card will be easy to find when booking online. ...

In the case concerned, the claimant had filed for a new passport but refused to provide his finger prints. The city of Bochum has therefore denied the issuance of the passport and the claimant filed a law suit against the city of Bochum before the Administrative Court Gelsenkirchen.The court has ...

The passengers had 4 return tickets for CPH - Accra/Ghana via AMS with KLM. The tickets were bought through a local travel agent. Original departure 19/12. On the 18/12 the flight was cancelled due to weather conditions in AMS. The passengers were rerouted to a departure 21/12. In the morning ...

The plaintiff and his companions had booked a holiday package to Curacao. The flight MUC-AMS-CUR was to be operated by the defendant. The passengers' luggage was checked through from MUC to CUR. The flight MUC-AMS arrived in AMS with a delay of 20 mins. Nevertheless, the passengers were able to ...

In five separate decisions of June 28, 2012, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled on the reasonableness of international tariff provisions of Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat, and domestic tariff provisions of Air Canada and WestJet relating to the overbooking, cancellation, delay and rerouting of flights.The Agency held that passengers ...

The Dutch Rechtbank Amsterdam has referred the following questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union:Should Articles 7 and 16 of the Regulation (EC) 261/2004, together with the principle of Union loyalty, be interpreted in such a way that those Articles (in conjunction with national law) create for ...