EU: Airlines Cannot Increase Ticket Price After Sale; Volotea Under Investigation
The European Commission warned airlines against increasing ticket prices post-sale by adding fuel surcharges. This follows an investigation into Volotea in France for such practices. The EU deems these actions unfair, except for clearly stipulated package tours.
The European Commission has warned airlines that they must not charge passengers additional fuel surcharges after tickets have been purchased. European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen stated that while adjusting published fares is possible, adding a fuel surcharge after ticket purchase is unacceptable and may raise questions about unfair commercial practices.
This statement comes amid an investigation in France into the Spanish low-cost airline Volotea, which demanded customers pay fuel surcharges after purchasing tickets. Volotea's director in France, Gilles Gosselin, defended this measure, citing legal confirmation from three law firms. However, the EU emphasized that any retroactive price changes are excluded, with the sole exception of package tours where possible fuel-related cost changes are clearly stated in the contract, limited to an eight percent increase.