The contested price differences were not linked to the date of purchase or to any other service feature that could explain varying costs, said the Commission. It seemed to be exclusively linked to the place of residence of the buyer, which is typically determined by airlines from the postal address or credit card address of the purchaser. In some cases the price differences were as high as 300%.
In December last year the Commission wrote to 18 airlines, including Air France, British Airways, British Midlands, Lufthansa, KLM and Virgin Atlantic, asking each whether it charged different prices for exactly the same ticket depending on the customer's country of residence and, if so, why. Budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair were not among the 18.
The Commission has now received answers from 16 of the airlines. While most companies indicate that they do not have any restrictions in place, several carriers have admitted that there may have been restrictions in the past, but that these restrictions have now been eliminated. Test bookings show that indeed most of the restrictions observed last year do not exist now, said the Commission.
In rare cases some restrictions may still exist for certain paper-based tickets, warned the Commission, but all electronic tickets are now available throughout the EU without discrimination, except in some cases for differences in handling fees. As a result, price levels are now similar for all EU residents.
The Commission will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that price discrimination on the basis of residence will not occur again in the future.