The European Union has publicly scolded Emirates, Turkish, Royal Air Maroc and six other airlines for persistently misleading customers on their websites. The EU’s “black list”, which also includes the likes of Aeroflot, Northwest and Olympic Airlines, emerged from an 18- month crackdown on misleading adverts and unfair practices reported on 137 airline websites in 15 EU countries plus Norway. Many of the complaints refer to deceptive “headline” prices, which disguise hidden extra costs. To comply with EU consumer protection rules, websites were judged according to a 14-point check list, which asked if all such extras such as taxes, charges and fees were included, and if extra costs were added as opt-in or opt-out options.

While 115 of the offending websites have since agreed to comply with EU rules, the nine airlines either ignored or responded inadequately to the EU’s complaints, said EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. “This a signal that they do not care about their customers,” Kuneva said. She has previously said she would get tougher on the airlines who are violators, but hasn’t done so yet and officials pointed to the fact that the vast majority of airlines - 52 out of 67 - have either been given a “clean bill of health”, or have promptly committed themselves to addressing the issues raised. That list now includes previous offenders such as low-cost carrier Ryanair and Austrian Airlines.

“This first pan-European enforcement investigation has shown it has real teeth and can deliver,” Kuneva said. The European Commission, which launched its investigation in September 2007, has given persistent offenders until July to remedy the situation or face the wrath of national regulators. The EU continued to use a name-andshame technique instead of sanctions as it said the airlines named had failed to respond to the commission’s 18-month crackdown into misleading claims on airline and air ticket websites in 15 EU countries plus Norway.

“This is not just a signal that they have some problems, it is a signal that these companies do not care too much to reply to the consumers’ concerns,” Kuneva told a press conference. Major carriers Air France-KLM and British Airways narrowly avoided being put on the blacklist by getting in touch with the Brussels authorities the day before the announcement was made to reporters. Three others - Germanwings, Niki and SkyEurope - were said to have engaged in constructive dialogue with the commission “but there are still outstanding issues.” Kuneva insisted the situation for consumers had improved greatly over the past two years.

“Airlines that didn’t even want to talk to us two years ago are now entering into constructive dialogue ... The clear message from the airline industry is that they want a level playing field.” As a result of an EU “enforcement investigation” started in September 2007, 115 airline websites out of the 137 investigated have been corrected. Consumers still need to look out for unclear price information, whereby extra non-optional charges are added throughout the booking process, sometimes at the end. There can also be problems with availability of an eye-catching offer, one which may not have been really available in the first place. Other problems can include contract terms written in a different language, prices given in an unfamiliar currency and no indication of how to contact the website making the offer.