The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia has issued a warning to Azimut Airlines concerning its practice of imposing varying charges on passengers for altering or canceling airline tickets, depending on whether these changes are made before or after the scheduled flight departure.
The FAS`s investigation revealed that Azimut had established a differential fee structure for modifications to air carriage contracts and cancellations, with charges differing based on the flight`s status. For instance, the fee for exchanges and refunds initiated prior to departure was approximately 4,000 rubles, but this charge escalated to 8,000 rubles or more if the notification occurred after the flight had departed, as detailed in the FAS statement.
While existing air transport regulations permit airlines to collect fees for voluntary flight cancellations or ticket changes, the imposition of disparate charges for identical actions must be justifiable. Furthermore, such fees are required to be economically sound and directly proportional to the actual expenses incurred by the airline.
The Russian FAS concluded that Azimut`s actions demonstrated characteristics of anti-monopoly law violations. Consequently, the agency has served a warning to the carrier, mandating it to recalculate and implement a standardized, economically justified fee for ticket exchanges and cancellations, irrespective of whether the aircraft has departed. Azimut Airlines has been given a 30-day deadline to comply with this warning.
