FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Kiwi "Self-transfer" to BKK, Eurowings liable for entire booking
Old Jun 21, 2023 | 6:19 am
  #43  
Fabo.sk
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Originally Posted by bender1057
If a "legit" travel agency combines several flights into a single booking and something goes wrong, the pax is entitled to compensation for the entire trip (see #29).
However, the affected airline can reclaim its damage from the tour operator (see #31).

This leads to the crucial question: What happens if the travel agency is not "legit", like e.g. kiwi.com?
Ruling referenced in #31 is relevant to package tours and deals with the responsibilities of operating airlines and tour operators (in particular regarding the need to inform the passenger of flight times and their changes), which is not the case here, seeing as kiwi.com is not a tour operator selling package tours.

Moreover, per the ruling, operating air carrier is "an air carrier that performs or intends to perform a flight under a contract with a passenger or on behalf of another person, legal or natural, having a contract with that passenger." and flight being "an air transport operation, being as it were a “unit” of such transport, performed by an air carrier which fixes its itinerary"

Now I am under the opinion that neither of these are true in this case. Eurowings does not intend to perform a flight DUS-x-BKK under a contract, with a passenger or on behalf thereof.
Eurowings has also not fixed the itinerary of DUS-x-BKK.

Eurowings only intended to perform, under contract, the flight DUS-PRG and only fixed the itinerary of DUS-PRG.

This again, in contrast with a properly constructed single ticket DUS-x-BKK which may be sold by a TA under provisions of fare rules and interline agreements, including but not limited to end-to-end construction.
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