El Ministerio de Consumo is investigating seven airlines for their policy with cabin luggage and seat allocation.
If found guilty they could each receive a fine of up to 100,000 euros, as the investigation by the El Ministerio de Consumo gathers pace.
The Ministry is investigating a total of seven low-cost airlines that operate in Spain for “supposed irregularities ” with regard to the carrying by passengers of cabin luggage and the allocation of seats among passengers.
Specifically, the practices being investigated by the team, headed by Alberto Garzón, are related to charging as “extras” for those services that are generally “necessary and essential” for consumers when traveling.
For this reason, the Ministry (under the protection of its new sanctioning powers against fraud) is studying whether this type of habitual practice carried out by low-cost companies could be considered abusive or unfair, as well as being a contravention of consumer regulations.
The department is also investigating whether other policies, such as price segmentation, could be generating privileged positions for companies in search engines such as Google and online comparison sites, by offering prices that are much lower than what the consumer ends up paying.
The airlines that are now under the magnifying glass represent a market share of over 30%, both inside and outside Europe, so their policies affect, according to the ministry, many millions of passengers.
These issues that are being investigated could involve serious infringements, which would see penalties of between 10,000 and 100,000 for the operators, an amount that could increase to between four and six times the profit they would have obtained illegally, or even up to 4%. total billing.
It would seem that if the irregularity of these practices is confirmed, the days of charges for travelling with hand luggage, or for choosing a seat next to our companion, could become a thing of the past.
