Complete disclosure of passenger rights?

Must an airline clearly and completely inform its passengers of their passenger rights? This legal view was held by the umbrella association of consumer centres of the federal states, and it brought claims for injunctive relief against the airline Germania on grounds of competition law.

The airline Germania offers flight tickets and maintains a website at www.flygermania.de.

With an information sheet that was accessible on the internet at flygermania.de, the airline informed its customers about entitlements in the event of overbooking, cancellation and flight delays as follows:

"Reimbursement of the airfare within 7 days"

and/or

"refreshments and meals while waiting for onward transportation (in the case of a waiting time of 2/3 hours refreshments, 5 hours meal), if necessary hotel accommodation (including transfer), if required"

and/or

"Major delays"
In the event of foreseeable delays of
– more than 2 hours for flights of up to 1,500 kilometres or
– more than 3 hours for flights of more than 1,500 kilometres within the Community or for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, the passenger has the right to
– as stated above under 5 and 6;
– in the event of delays exceeding 5 hours, additionally the right under (1)."

The association took the view that the information about Germania displayed on the internet constituted insufficient and thus also anti-competitive passenger information, and brought claims for injunctive relief on grounds of competition law. It was clear from the passenger rights regulation that the airline was subject to certain information obligations. Consumers were being misled by the airline's misinformation.

Court decision

By judgment of 08.10.2015 – Az.: 52 O 103/15 – the Regional Court (LG) Berlin decided that the passenger information provided by the airline Germania was insufficient and thus anti-competitive.

The information sheet on the website did not correctly and adequately inform consumers of their rights in the event of overbooking or major delays. In particular, the entitlement to reimbursement of the airfare as provided for in the passenger rights regulation was not communicated. Furthermore, the wording chosen by Germania was not sufficiently transparent and was therefore misleading.

Conclusion

An airline fulfils its statutory obligation under the passenger rights regulation only if it notifies its customers in sufficiently clear form of all existing rights. Since these provisions constitute provisions protecting consumers, a breach thereof is anti-competitive and may give rise to claims for injunctive relief from a competitor.