O r d e r 201 3

- 7

- 11

UNI TE D ST A TE S OF A M E RICA

D E P AR T M E NT OF T RAN S P OR T A T ION

OF F ICE O F T HE SE C R ET ARY

WA S HIN G T ON, D.C.

Iss u e d b y t h e D e p a r t m en t of T r a n s p o rt a t ion

On the Twelfth d ay of July , 201 3

British Airways P lc Do c k e t O S T 201 3

- 0004

Viola t io n s of 49 U. S .C. § 41712 S er v e d July 12

, 2013

CON SE NT ORD E R

This c ons e nt o r d e r c on c er ns in acc u ra te in f o r m a t i on p r ovid e d b y British Airways P lc ( B ritish

A irways ) to c onsum er s r e g a r ding the availability of discounted fees for baggage on its Internet

website in viol a ti o n of 49 U. S

. C

. § 41712. The o r d e r di r e c ts British Airways to c ea s e a nd

d e sist fr om f utu r e simil a r viol a tions of s ec tion 41712, a nd a ss e s s e s the c a rr i e r a c omp r om i se

c ivil p e n a l t y o f $ 4 0,000

.

A pp li c a b le L a w

Carriers that display on their websites specific optional service fees, including discounted fees

for baggage, as being available to all consumers must ensure that the displayed fees are in fact

available to all consumers and that as a prac tical matter consumers are able to obtain the

optional services at the advertised rates. 1 The failure to provide accurate optional service fee

information by advertising certain fees as universally obtainable when that is not the case is an

unfair and deceptive practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.

B a c k g r o un d

I n May 201 2

, in response to a consumer complaint, the Department’s Office of Aviation

En f o rce m e nt and Proceedings (Enforcement O ff i c e ) conducted an investigation of British

1 Pursuant to 14 CFR 399.85(d), a U.S. or foreign air carrier that has a website marketed to U.S. consumers

must prominently disclose on the website information on fees for all optional services that are available to a

passenger purchasing air transportation.2

Airways ’ U.S. website, www.britishairways.com /us , which offered discounted rates for

consumers that pay the fee for baggage in advance

. The Enforcement Office found that certain

consumers that made their reservations through third

- party booking agent s were unable to pay

at the discounted rate for these baggage fees on British Airways’ website; instead, they receive d

a “ system non

- responding ” message, which provided no other instructions or explanation s

except a prompt to try again later. British Airways failed to provide notice that its discounted

rates may not be available to all consumers or to implement a system making t he discounted

rates available to all consumers. As such, a number of consumers who attempted to pay

baggage fees at the discounted rates that the carrier stated were available online were unable to

do so and as a result were forced to pay the higher rates applicable to p urchase s made at airport

ticket counters

. British Airways’ failure to provide accurate information regarding the

availability of its discounted baggage fees violates 49 U.S.C. § 41712.

M i t iga t ion

In mitigation, British Airways emphasizes its regret that any of its passengers may have been

inconvenienced by being unable to book an online discounted extra baggage fee and asserts that

the vast majority of its passengers were able to obtain the discoun t without difficulty. British

Airways further states that the discount is not intended to promote the sale of excess baggage

but to ease congestion at airport check

- in, allow customers to avoid lengthy lines and otherwise

enhance the customer experience. British Airways notes that passengers who contacted it

because they were unable to book the discounted rate online were either provided with

alternative means to obtain that rate or British Airways provided refunds to those passengers.

D ec ision

The En f o r ce m e nt O ff i c e h a s c a ref ul l y c onsid e re d the in f o r m a tion p r ovid e d b y British Airways

, but c ontinu e s to b e li e ve th a t e n f o r c e m e nt ac tion is w arra n t e d. The En f o r c e m e nt O ff i c e a nd

British Airways h a ve r eac h e d a s e ttl e m e nt of this m a tt e r in o r d e r to a void liti g a t i on. W itho u t

a dmitting or d e n y i n g the viol a tions d e s cr ib e d a b ov e

, British Airways c ons e nts to the issu a n c e

o f a n o r d e r to c e a se a nd d e sist fr om f utu r e similar viol a t i ons of 49 U. S

. C

. § 41 7 12, a nd to t h e

a ss e ssm e nt of $ 4 0,000 in c omp r omise of po t e n ti a l c ivil p e n a lti e s oth e r wise due a nd p a y a ble

pu r s u a nt to 49 U. S

. C . § 46301.

This c omp r omise a ss e s s m e nt is a pp r op r i a te c o n sid er ing the n a tu r e a nd e x t e nt of the viol a tions

d e s cr ib e d h e r e in a nd the si z e a nd sophisti ca tion of the carr i e r a nd s er v e s the public int ere st. I t

re pr e s e nts a st r o n g d e t er r e n t to f utu r e similar practices b y British Airways

, a s w e ll a s b y

oth e r carr i er s.

This o r d e r is issu e d und e r the a utho r i t y c ont a in e d in 49 C F R Part 1 and 14 CFR 385.15

.

ACCORDI N G L Y,

1. B a s e d on the a bove dis c ussion, we a pp r ove this s e ttl e m e nt a nd the p r ovisions of this

o r d e r a s b e i n g in the public int ere st;

2. W e f ind th a t British Airways P lc e n g a g e d in an u n fa ir a nd d e ce ptive p r a c ti c e a n d an3

un fa ir m e thod o f c omp e tition in viol a tion of 49 U. S

. C

. § 41712 b y f a iling to acc u r a t e l y in f o r m

certain c ons u m er s of the availability of its discounted baggage fees ;

3

. W e o r d e r British Airways P lc a nd its su c ce s s o r s a nd a ssi g n e e s to c e a se a nd d e sist fr om

future similar viol a tions of 49 U. S

. C

. § 41712. Fa ilu r e to c omp l y with this c e a se a nd d e sist

p r ovision sh a ll subj ec t British Airways P lc a nd its su c c e sso r s a nd a ssi g n e e s to f u r th e r

e n f or ce m e nt a c tion;

4

. W e a ss e s s British Airways P lc a c o m pro m i s e c i v i l p e n alt y of $ 4 0,000 i n l i e u of ci v i l

p e n al t ie s t h a t mi gh t o t h e r w i s e be a ss e ss e d f or t he v i o lati ons d e s c r i b e d i n o r d er i n g

p ar a g ra ph 2, a b ov e

. Of this total penalty amount, $2 0,000 shall be due and payable within 30

days of the issuance date of this order, and the remaining $2 0,000 shall become due and

payable if, within one year of the issuance date of this order, British Airways Plc violates the

cease and desist provision in ordering paragraph 3 , above, or fails to comply with the payment

provisions in this ordering paragraph , in which case

, the entire unpaid portion of the civil

penalty shall become due and payable immediately; and

5

. We order British Airways Plc to pay the penalty through Pay.gov to the account of the

U.S. Treasury. Payments shall be made in accordance with the instructions contained in the

Attachment to this order. Failure to pay the penalty as ordered shall subject British Airways

Plc to the a ssessment of interest, penalty, and collection charges under the Debt Collection Act

and to further enforcement action for failing to comply with this order.

This o r d e r will b e c ome a f in a l o r d e r o f the D e p ar tm e nt 10 d a y s af t e r its s er vi c e d a te

unl e ss a tim e l y p e tition f or re vi e w is f il e d or t h e D e p a r tm e nt t a k e s re v i e w on its own

motion.

BY:

SAMUEL PODBERESKY

Assistant General Counsel for

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings

An electronic version of this document is available at

www.regulations.gov