The Consumer Ministry is investigating seven airlines for their carry-on baggage and seat allocation policy. The movement of the department directed by Alberto Garzón occurs after the controversy raised by the alleged charge demanded by Ryanair to some passengers for the check-in of two ensaimadas as hand luggage.
Specifically, the General Subdirectorate of Inspection and Sanctioning Procedure of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has opened an investigation into seven low-cost airlines operating in national territory for "alleged irregularities in their hand luggage policy and seat assignment".
The practices on which the ministry led by Garzón has opened an investigation are related to charging as "extras" for services that, generally, are necessary and essential for passengers when traveling. "This is the case, for example, of the charge of an additional amount or supplement for carrying a suitcase in the cabin without checking in or for selecting a seat, even in the case of minors or dependents," explains the Ministry.
The announcement of these investigations coincides with the controversy that arose a few weeks ago when two Mallorcans who had bought ensaimadas ended up giving them away to avoid paying the 45 euros that Ryanair asked them to check them as if it were hand luggage.
The matter ended up causing a high-level meeting between the Minister of Tourism of the Balearic Islands, those responsible for Ryanair in Spain and the guild of bakers and pastry chefs of the Island and has been settled with a commitment by Ryanair not to charge for boarding ensaimadas to the plane. The company has explained that, in that case, what happened is that the passengers had not contracted the rate to be able to carry a carry-on suitcase and they were charged for this, and not for the ensaimadas they were carrying.
This Wednesday, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has revealed that, under its new sanctioning powers against massive fraud, it studies whether certain types of commercial practices by low cost companies are abusive or unfair and if they contravene, in a generalized way, the consumer regulations.
The General Subdirectorate of Inspection and Sanctioning Procedure also investigates whether, through practices such as price segmentation, operators could be obtaining privileged positions in search engines and online flight comparators with prices much lower than those that the consumer actually ends up paying in the final transaction.
"The companies investigated hold, as a whole, a market share above 30% both inside and outside Europe, so they have an impact on the hiring of millions of passengers," indicate from the Ministry, without specifying on which specific airlines keep these investigations open.
Consumo recalls, in any case, that the behaviors investigated would constitute alleged serious infractions that can be sanctioned with fines of between 10,000 and 100,000 euros, being able to exceed these amounts to reach between four and six times the illicit benefit obtained or up to 4% of the turnover if they were confirmed as widespread practices within the EU.
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