The Latvian airline airBaltic has been posted on the European Commission's "black list" for misleading pricing policies on their ticketing Web site.
AirBaltic, along with Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines and other low cost carriers were put on the black list for not meeting standards and not agreeing to change their policies.
AirBaltic, however, claims that their Web site meets all the basic requirements and said that many other European airlines with the same pricing policies were put on a better "grey" list as they promised to change their policies.
"I have to say that the criterion of how they classified these lists was a little bit blurred, to put it mildly. They checked the airlines against 14 criteria, and we met all but one. We advertise our full fare and we have clear and understandable conditions," said Janis Vanags, vice-president of corporate communications for airBaltic.
Vanags explained that what airBaltic does differently from traditional carriers such as Lufthansa is that they split the ticket cost into different items.
"The price is divided among different things like baggage, insurance or extra meals. If the customer doesn't wish to use that service, they can reduce the ticket price and pay less, so it's very democratic," said Vanags.
The controversy came when airBaltic decided to automatically pre-select one checked bag for each passenger during its online booking processes.
"What we have seen is most passengers choosing to check one bag, so for the sake of convenience, we have pre-selected one. Most passengers do not choose to pre-order meals and this is left unselected," explained Vanags.
The European Commission is asking airBaltic and other airlines to discontinue the practice of pre-selecting items for passengers, as the total ticket price can be deceiving.
"We are changing our Web site on a monthly basis to continually improve. We have made tremendous changes following consumer watchdog advice," explained Vanags.
AirBaltic is currently contesting this matter in the Latvian court, and are awaiting the final decision before initiating any policy changes.
"The EC says we are going too far with pre-selection. We say pre-selected services are a widespread practice among airlines. There is no single standard for everyone. As soon as the common standard [is changed] we will change our Web site," said Vanags.
A spokesman for the European Commission reported that the lists of airlines published were compiled on the basis of an investigation carried out by consumer watchdogs in March 2009.
Other blacklisted airlines, two others which fly to the Baltics include: Olympic, Turkish Airlines, Royal Moroccan Airlines, Northwest, Aeroflot, Wing Jet and Emirates.
Only a reported 16 of the top 67 airlines in Europe are complying with the law in full, while others are in negotiations. The European Commission began an 18 month investigation into misleading prices and charges in Sept. 2007 on 137 airline Web sites.
