Airlines asked to defend internet ticket prices

British Airways and 17 other European airlines have been given two months to explain their Internet ticket sales practices after the EC received complaints from passengers.

European Commission spokesman Gilles Gantelet said EU regulators received ”several hundred” complaints objecting to being charged different prices for exactly the same ticket, depending on their country of residence within the EU.

“We are asking the airlines to explain the practices,” Gantelet said in Brussels.

EU regulators suspect the practices could discriminate against consumers violating single market rules.

Gantelet said the EU sent a letter to the Association of European Airlines, which represents most major European carriers to answer the allegations.

In a statement, the European Commission said price differences on tickets bought online “can be as high as 300%.” The “differential seems to be exclusively linked to the place of residence of the buyer,” it said.

The Commission gave 18 airlines who are members of the AEA, including British Airways and Air France, until February 29 to defend their practices.

However, Gantelet said the Commission had little power to sanction the airlines.

“In part this is about naming and shaming the airlines,” he said. The Commission will wait to see the carriers’ responses before considering legal action, Gantelet added.

Low-cost carriers like Ryanair and Easyjet do not appear on the Commission’s list of airlines suspected of discriminatory behaviour.

Those airlines’ prices “are more or less the same across the board,” Gantelet said.