Consumer Interests. 1. Each Party recognises the importance of protecting the interests of consumers and may take or may require airlines to take, on a non-discriminatory basis, reasonable and proportionate measures concerning the following matters, including but not limited to:
Consumer Interests. To the extent consumer interests are affected, the undersigned company abides by regulations that protect the consumer, as well as appropriate sales, marketing and information practices. Groups that are in special need of protection (e.g. protection of minors) will receive special attention.
Consumer Interests. Consumer interests cover many issues, including air “passenger rights” and the contractual relationship between air carriers and their users. Despite the emphasis given in liberalization to opening up markets to meet user needs, the focus by airlines on cost pressures and competitive market forces has sometimes led to an adverse impact on consumer interests. Furthermore, infrastructure limitations with airspace congestion and passenger handling problems at some airports have ensured the continued public attention given in recent years to passenger rights in particular. In response to a perceived decline in customer services, a significant number of States have adopted regulatory measures that address some of the issues. Denied boarding compensation, bans on smoking, on-time performance statistics and access for disabled passengers are a few examples of specific regulatory attention. Some government have also required airlines, inter alia, to ensure that all tariffs are made available to the public, to disclose information on cancellation policies, and to avoid misleading advertisements. On the issue of passenger rights, quality of service offered by airlines has not always met consumers’ expectations. Growing passenger dissatisfaction with the service conduct of airlines in recent years, such as inadequate handling in case of flight delays and cancellations and insufficient information on an airline’s commercial and operational conditions, has generated political pressure on airlines to provide a more comprehensive set of rights for their customers. In a paper presented at the 5th World Conference on liberalization in march 2003, the ICAO secretariat suggested that the improvement of service quality can be achieved by competitive response, regulatory measures and/or voluntary commitments. Competitive responses. Competition in the market place can best work to meet consumers’ expectation, especially in the areas relating to “value for money”, such as seat configuration, in-flight services, meals and e-commerce services. On the basis of their own commercial judgment, airlines provide various combinations of service qualities with prices. Consumers benefit from the availability of differentiated product options, and can switch to competing airlines if a carrier does not meet their expectations. Regulatory measures. Concerns about the limit of competitive response have induced several States to take regulatory action and to strengthen passenger rights, create ...
