The European Commission (EC) has sent a letter to all 18 members of the Association of European Airlines (AEA) asking them to explain why they charge different prices in different countries for identical tickets.
The EC says that it has acted after receiving numerous complaints from European Union citizens, especially those buying airline tickets on the internet. However, the EC has not written to low-cost carriers as it says it has never received complaints of this type for budget airlines, mainly because they tend to have just one internet site.
According to the Commission, price differentials can be as high as 300% and it complains that travel agents are also prevented from selling tickets to non-residents of EU member states.
"The complaints received by the Commission concern identical tickets," it says. "The contested price differences are thus not linked to the date of purchase, the possibility to change one's reservation or to any other service feature that could explain varying costs. The price differential seems to be exclusively linked to the place of residence of the buyer."
The 18 carriers have until the end of February to respond to the letter. Brussels says it wants to establish whether airlines do actually charge different prices, and, if they do, the reasons for this. The EC admits that it is not clear what action it can take as discrimination is normally a matter for member states, but says the investigation may lead to legislation to combat any practices which conflict with the single European aviation area.
The AEA and IATA have yet to establish a position on the issue as the 18 carriers are still considering their responses to the letter.
Source: Airline Business
