Need to return

FAS did not like aviation tariffs

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) yesterday ordered airlines operating in the domestic Russian market to stop the practice of selling tickets at “non-refundable” fares. In addition, the FAS found, as stated in a statement it published, that “there may be infringement of the interests of consumers, which in some cases is the result of the opaque tariff policy of carriers.” By April 30, airlines must inform the service about the measures they have taken to ensure a balance between the interests of airlines and consumers.

The first reaction of representatives of large Russian airlines is that they do not apply “non-refundable” tariffs. However, since the complexity and complexity of algorithms for setting customer tariffs have already become an integral feature of global (including Russian) commercial aviation, the question of the degree of “refundability” of tariffs of many Russian air carriers may turn out to be at least controversial.

In a statement published yesterday, the FAS stated: “The tariff formation system used in air transport is characterized by a multiplicity of tariffs and conditions for their application, and a complex structure of transportation costs (tariff plus fees). Tariffs are described in special terms and are subject to coding, as a result of which complete tariff information is quite complex for consumers of transport services.”

The service has raised serious complaints about the practice of applying tariffs that exclude refunds in the event that a passenger refuses to fulfill the contract of carriage (including by notifying the airline in advance). Such tariffs, by the way, are widely used by air carriers around the world. These are usually the cheapest rates. Airlines are considering refunds for unused tickets as an additional service (or insurance). Passengers who wish to have this option must pay for it in the form of a higher fare. Those who prefer cheap tickets must accept the possibility of losing money if their plans change.

However, in Russia, as the FAS indicated yesterday, Art. 108 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes the right of an aircraft passenger to refuse a flight by notifying the carrier no later than 24 hours before departure of the aircraft and to receive back the amount paid for air transportation. If canceling a flight later than the established period, the passenger has the right to receive back the amount paid for air transportation with the withholding of a fee, the amount of which cannot exceed 25% of the amount paid for air transportation. A similar provision is contained in the Rules for the formation and application of tariffs for regular air transportation of passengers and baggage, collection of fees in the field of civil aviation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated September 25, 2008 No. 155. Based on this, the FAS demanded that air carriers “eliminate the practice of selling tickets at tariffs that exclude refunds in the event of a passenger’s voluntary refusal to travel.”

“Our airline does not have non-refundable fares,” representatives of Russia’s leading airlines almost unanimously told the Vremya Novostei newspaper yesterday. However, the “degree of repayment” of current tariffs does not fully correspond to the regulations referred to by the FAS.

The carrier’s press secretary, Irina Kolesnikova, told our newspaper yesterday that there is no “non-return problem” at S7 airline. However, in the PO-LE-TE-LY fare system used by the company, for returning tickets earlier than 24 days before departure, a fee of 10-20% of the cost (depending on the fare) plus a fixed amount of 400 rubles is provided. This clearly does not comply with the principle of “getting back the amount paid for air transportation” enshrined in the Air Code. When returning tickets less than 24 hours before departure, S7 applies an additional fee of 5-25% of the cost. A fundamentally similar system of fines is used by SkyExpress airline, which advertises itself as Russia’s first discount carrier. There, if you refuse transportation 24 hours or more in advance, the passenger loses a fixed amount of 519 rubles. from the ticket, later - 519 rubles. plus 25% tariff. By international standards, such fines are still quite humane, but according to the current standards in Russia they are very similar to “infringement of consumer interests.”

Mikhail KUKUSHKIN