EU to harden airline pricing rules
Afp, Brussels
The EU announced on Monday that it is stopping airlines from agreeing prices among themselves for passengers buying a single ticket for a journey within the bloc on different flights and carriers. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, will scrap the so-called IATA "passenger tariff conferences" and impose normal competition rules. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said there were not sufficient assurances that the present exemptions "continue to benefit passengers on journeys within the EU". For flights in and out of the EU, the price agreement system will remain in place for the time being and its continuation depends on proving benefit to customers, said Kroes. At present, under EU competition rules from 1993, air carriers are allowed to agree on prices for journeys where passengers are said to be 'interlining' that is jumping from airline to airline within a journey. To facilitate this practice, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) operates a so-called passenger tariff conference that reduces price competition but allows passengers to fly on one ticket with several carriers. The IATA is a trade association representing some 260 airlines worldwide.
| 
