AIRLINES may have to pay thousands of pounds to customers, on top of an estimated £60m compensation to agents, in a new twist to the Passenger Service Charge court case.
ABTA won the High Court case after a judge ruled airlines could not call PSC a tax and separate it from the rest of the ticket price to avoid commission on the fare.
The test case involved three agencies, Jetset, Majestic Travel and Phoenix Travel, and three airlines, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Lufthansa. Jetset owner John Bond claimed the decision could mean members of the public, who have had to pay PSC, were now entitled to their money back.
“Passengers may go through their agent or tour operator to get their £7 back. There is an opportunity for them to retrieve it.”
Claims from passengers will come as a further blow to the airlines who may be forced to pay millions of pounds to agents in lost commission and to reprogramme booking systems. The airlines have been told to pay ABTA’s £60,000 external costs. BA, Virgin and Lufthansa have appealed against the decision but will hold a meeting with ABTA this week to try to thrash out a compromise. BA’s general manager leisure sales Robin Hayes said: “We were surprised by the judgement. This was really about creating transparency for the customer.”