EU probe says travel Web sites mislead consumers

By Darren Ennis Reuters - Thursday, May 8 01:15 pm

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - One in three European consumers are being misled or ripped off by Web sites selling airline tickets, the European Union's consumer chief said on Thursday, warning the industry to improve or face legal action.

"It is unacceptable that one in three consumers going to book a plane ticket online is being ripped off or misled and confused," EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva told a news conference.

"But my message to industry is clear, act now or we will act. We will need to see credible evidence of improvement to clean up these sales and marketing practices within the airline sector by May 1st next year or we will be left with no choice but to intervene."

Kuneva was speaking after the publication of an investigation by Brussels into misleading advertising and unfair practices on airline ticket selling websites, including many run by leading airlines, across the 27-member bloc and Norway.

Following a previous probe by the EU executive in November, otherwise known as a "sweep", Kuneva warned airlines such as Ryanair and the owners of the other travel websites to improve their systems or face possible closure of their sites.

Online booking is critical for the EU airline travel industry, which Commission figures show caters to over 700 million passengers per year.

Thursday's report showed that over half of the 226 Web sites found to have breached EU consumer rules last November had now rectified their problems, but around 80 companies have still failed to address the concerns expressed by Brussels.

"This report shows there are serious and persistent problems with ticket sales throughout the airline industry as a whole," Kuneva said.

The probe found Web sites with unfair pricing, hidden charges and terms and conditions not translated properly.

The consumer chief said she intends to write to the 27 governments and hold talks with industry representatives, giving them one year to "get their house in order".

"She (Kuneva) can ask a government to close down any Web site which fails to meet the EU's requirements of if that country fails to act, she can take action against that government at the European Court of Justice which can result in hefty fines for both the government or the company," a spokeswoman for Kuneva said.

Due to legal reasons, only Norway and Sweden were able to publish the names of the offending airlines.

Ryanair -- Europe's largest low-cost carrier -- was named by both authorities, while Norway had an issue with Finland's Blue 1, Austrian Airlines and Swedish regulators are taking action against 12 travel websites.

(Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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