Indication of air fares under EU law: CJEU rules on the appropriate currency

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has ruled that air carriers have to indicate air fares for intra-EU flights in the currency of either the place of departure or the place of destination of the particular flight.

The case concerned a lawsuit in Germany of a consumer-protection organization against a German air carrier. The carrier offers flights, among others, from Germany to the UK and indicates the price of the tickets (air fares) in pounds sterling (GBP). The claimant argued that prices should be indicated at least also in Euro.

The CJEU referred to Arts 23(1) and 2(18) of Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community. Art. 23(1) provides that the final price of air fares must be indicated at all times during the booking process, while Art. 2(18) clarifies that ‘air fares’ means the prices expressed in euro or in local currency to be paid to air carriers or their agents or other ticket sellers for the carriage of passengers. Subsequently, the Court underlined that the objective of the Regulation is to enable passengers compare effectively the prices of air services and promote competition among air carriers.

According to the court, such objective requires that prices are indicated in a currency objectively linked to the flight in question. Such is the currency of the place of departure or the place of arrival of the flight. Therefore, air carriers may display their air fares in a currency other than the Euro, provided that this is the local currency of the place of departure or arrival of the flight.

You can find the judgment here and the Court’s press release here.