Ryanair will be charged €5,000 per day unless it stops ‘pressure selling’ tactics on its website, like scarcity warnings and urgency messages, after a court ruling last week in Belgium that has been hailed as a victory for consumers.
Consumer groups called the ruling a “decisive win for market transparency” after a multi-year legal campaign against Europe’s biggest low-cost airline, but Ryanair has a very different take on the judgment.
Ryanair ordered to stop website ‘pressure selling’ tactics
On January 28, the Brussels Enterprise Court handed down a judgment ordering Ryanair to change how it sells tickets and ancillary services like extra luggage on its website after ruling that the airline’s practices were unlawful.
Specifically, the court ruled that Ryanair must stop:
- Scarcity and urgency messages that suggest a flight is nearly full and that consumers must buy now or risk missing out.
- Listing discounts based on reference prices that were never applied in the first place.
- Pushing bundled pricing for ancillary services without clearly listing what these services would cost if bought separately.
- Hidden baggage fees that don’t show checked baggage fees for both the outbound and return flight.
The lawsuit was brought by Belgium consumer watchdog Testachats with the support of umbrella group Euroconsumers, who accused Ryanair of misleading passengers with marketing messages like “only five seats available at this price.”
Ryanair has three months to make changes to its website or face fines of €5,000 per day that the violations continue, up to a maximum fine of €1 million.
Consumer groups hail court victory
“This ruling is a clear victory for consumers,” commented Marco Scialdone, Head of Litigation at Euroconsumers on Tuesday. “It confirms that airlines cannot rely on misleading price tactics, fake discounts or hidden costs to drive sales.”
“Transparency is a legal obligation and a cornerstone of a fair and competitive market,” Scialdone continued.
Jean-Philippe Ducart from Testachats said the organisation wanted airfares to be “clearly displayed, separately for each service, from the beginning of the booking process.”
The idea is that passengers can then compare the prices of airfares between different airlines more easily.
Ryanair has a very different take on ruling
In a lengthy statement, Ryanair explained that it had a very different take on the Belgian court’s ruling, saying that it welcomed the judgment as it reaffirmed the carrier’s cabin baggage policy.
Testachats had also complained that Ryanair should provide free cabin baggage, but the court denied this claim, ruling that the airline’s current policy of allowing one small under-seat bag for free, but charging for larger bags that go in the overhead bins, was lawful.
The court also rejected a slew of other claims made by Testachats, including demand-based pricing, seat choice fees, and its family seating policy.
“We welcome this clear and comprehensive ruling confirming—once again and in line with EU and national courts across Italy, Germany, Spain, and the CJEU—that Ryanair’s cabin bag policy is fully compliant with EU law,” commented Dara Brady, Ryanair’s head of marketing.
“Our free underseat bag meets all legal and safety requirements, and customers continue to enjoy Europe’s lowest fares by choosing only the optional services they wish to purchase.”
EasyJet slammed over misleading cabin bag prices
The decision by the Belgian court came on the same day that Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced that it had ordered rival low-cost airline EasyJet to change misleading cabin baggage fee information on its website.
Under its list of fees, EasyJet advertised that cabin baggage was available to book “from £5.99,” but rather than providing much-needed transparency, consumer group Which? argued the claim was misleading and unsubstantiated.
EasyJet told investigators that cabin baggage really could be booked from as little as £5.99, but the airline couldn’t offer any evidence to back up this claim and failed to provide any documentation to show how often consumers had actually bought cabin baggage at this price.
Unable to prove cabin baggage really was available to book “from £5.99”, the ASA ordered EasyJet to remove the claim from its website.
EasyJet now says that cabin baggage fees “vary with demand, route, flight date, and time of booking. You’ll see the exact price at the time of purchase.”
Aviation industry fights changes to hand baggage rules in Europe
European airlines are currently fighting proposals by European lawmakers to make cabin baggage free for all passengers, arguing that implementing the rule would raise airfares for everyone.
Last week, EasyJet slammed the proposal as a “lunatic idea” which would be “terrible for the consumer”.
A European transportation committee has voted in favor of the regulations, but the policy must first be approved by 55% of the EU’s 27 member states before it becomes law.
At present, nearly every airline across Europe allows passengers to bring one small item that can fit underneath the seat in front of them onboard for free.
Additional charges for bringing a larger piece of hand luggage that must be stored in the overhead bin can, however, vary significantly from airline to airline, with carriers imposing wildly different bag dimension restrictions that can catch passengers off guard.
Article updated with a statement from Ryanair.
