Emirates denies charge of misleading website prices

Dubai’s Emirates Airlines has denied a European Commission charge that it has mislead customers over website ticket prices.

The airline was one of nine named and shamed by the European Commission on Thursday for failing to act on concerns that they were misleading customers on their website.  

It comes just days after Emirates launched a new "best price" promotion via its website guaranteeing that no better fares for the same Emirates flights would be found anywhere else on the internet.

“We are surprised at the revelations of the EU report on airline websites. Our commercial operations are guided by fair business practices and transparency for our customers,” said Richard Vaughan, divisional senior vice president, commercial operations worldwide, in a statement.

“There has been no communication from the EU investigators warning us of any compliance issues. If such issues exist, we would be very keen to engage in dialogue to understand these issues,” he added, in the statement that was reported on WAM news agency.

Joining Emirates on the EU list was Northwest and Aeroflot, while Air France-KLM and British Airways narrowly avoided inclusion by contacting the authorities in Brussels before the announcement was made.

“This is not just a signal that they have some problems, it is a signal that these companies do not care too much to reply to the consumers’ concerns,” EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Juneva told a press conference in Brussels.

However, Emirates’ Vaughan said the airline had contacted the EU to obtain its website checklist, which it had used, in combination with legal advice, to ensure its website was up to scratch. 

“We were satisfied that our websites and fare advertising had complied with all the listed requirements,” he added.

The European Commission wants all the airlines involved to commit to putting their websites straight by the end of June, after which remedial measures could be taken.

Consumers needed to look out for unclear price information, such as extra non-optional charges being added through the booking process, or at the end, the EU said.

There could also be problems with availability of an eye-catching offer, it warned. (Agencies)

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