Arnecke Sibeth successful for Emirates Airlines in European Court of Justice
Luxembourg/Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Luxembourg / Frankfurt am Main
Arnecke Sibeth successful for Emirates Airlines in European Court of Justice
In a dispute over the extent of airfare ticket price refunds in case of downgrading, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a preliminary ruling (file no. C-255/15) confirmed the position of Emirates airlines, represented by Arnecke Sibeth.
In interpretation of EU Regulation No. 261/2004 on air passengers´ rights, the court held that the downgrading of a passenger from Business to Economy class during one leg of a multi-stop trip does not entitle the passenger to a refund based on the ticket price for the entire journey, but rather to a proportionate refund based on the price for the particular leg.
The ECJ further clarified that the “ticket price” in the sense of the Regulation No. 261/2004 means only the net price for the airfare, excluding taxes and charges.
This ruling by the ECJ will not only impact the pending procedure in the local court of Düsseldorf (Germany) that had requested the preliminary ruling, Arnecke Sibeth´s Head of TAL (Transport Aviation + Logistics) department, Ulrich Steppler, welcomed it also as a valuable clarification for the practice of the industry in general.