NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
delay. German carrier Condor argued the flight was delayed not cancelled, and the case went to the ECJ for a ruling on whether long delays are the same as cancellations. Lazowski said: “The case
exposed the unequal treatment of passengers. The advocate general of the Court of Justice acknowledged it was a problem, but warned it was not the job of the ECJ to fix this by means of interpretation.” He said: “It’s particularly puzzling that the court decided to proceed.” The ECJ ruled a flight “cannot
be regarded as cancelled where it is operated in accordance with the carrier’s original planning”. But it went further, Lazowski said. “Controversially, it held that passengers were entitled to compensation for a delay of more than three hours.” He argued: “The court was
trying to wake up EU citizens, to say ‘Look, these are your rights. Go and sue. It picked a good case. People travel a lot and flights are delayed. It was a good opportunity. The ECJ took the side of consumers, but gambled its legitimacy.” Lazowski accused the court of
“poor reasoning”, saying it never publishes the legal argument behind rulings, and noted: “The court is often criticised for the quality of its judgments.” The ECJ has rejected all challenges to its “judicial lawmaking”. Lazowski pointed out the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, which provides the basis for EU law, requires the ECJ to “ensure that in interpretation and application of treaties the law is observed”. Quoting a fellow professor,
he argued: “If courts go beyond their duty of saying what the law is, they lack legitimacy.” UK carriers face an estimated bill of £250 million a year to meet claims as a result of the ruling.
Lufthansa loses share of flights ‘due to flawed DCC’
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk
Lufthansa’s share of UK-Germany bookings by business travel agents fell from a third to a quarter after the carrier introduced a €16 fee for GDS bookings last September, according to the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC).
A study of 12,000 transactions
by GTMC members compared bookings from the UK to Germany between June and August 2015 with those between September and November. Lufthansa introduced a Distribution Cost Charge (DCC) of €16 ( £11.20) on all GDS bookings on September 1. The study found Lufthansa’s
market share dipped from 32.9% in the pre-DCC quarter to 24.4% following the fee’s introduction – a fall of 8.5 percentage points. Over the same period, the GTMC
reported: “Other carriers matched or increased their market share.” GTMC chief executive Paul Wait said: “We predicted the Lufthansa
Walsh: BA would reduce services if City costs rise
British Airways could shut most of its operation at London City airport if a new owner increases airport charges to meet the £2 billion price tag for a takeover. Willie Walsh, chief executive of
BA parent International Airlines Group, issued the threat last week, saying: “We will not stay in London City at the levels we are if charges increase.”
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travelweekly.co.uk 11 February 2016 LUFTHANSA: Its share of UK-Germany bookings via GDSs fell to a quarter
“This charge has damaged Lufthansa’s market share. It is a failed strategy”
charge would upset and put off business travel bookers. They have not booked directly with Lufthansa as it [the airline] had hoped, instead they have taken their business elsewhere.” Wait added: “This charge has done obvious damage to Lufthansa’s market share. It is a
flawed and failed strategy that should be reviewed.” Christian Schindler, Lufthansa
regional director for the UK, said the GTMC figures did not tally with the airline’s. “They only looked at the GTMC channels. It’s not the total picture,” he said. “Bookings through our own channels are outside this picture.” He said the carrier’s November
figures were affected by “the biggest strike in Lufthansa’s history”. He added: “For one week most of our flights were cancelled. “Our passenger figures are very
good overall.”
London City was put up for sale
by US owner Global Infrastructure Partners last August and is valued at £2 billion. Walsh called the price “foolish”.
He told the Financial Times: “If the owners succeed in selling this for £2 billion we cannot see how a buyer will be able to recover or make any return on that investment unless they significantly increase airport charges.” Walsh added: “The margins we
make at London City would not support any increase in charges.” BA operates a range of
short-haul business and leisure
WALSH: ‘Any buyer would need to increase charges to make return’
routes from London City as well as a twice-daily business-class-only service to New York via Shannon.
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