Fitch

This is turning into a hugely entertaining episode of "When lawyers attack"

AA_EXP09

What if the PAX made a booking through an OTA located in another EU member state?

uk1

I would only be guessing, so I won't. Sorry!

Dave I reckon is our man.

I do so hope he continues to contribute in exactly the way he has and doesn't bow to the bullying. We'd benefit from his knowledge, fun and preparedness to actually debate.

Hoch

Secret confessions, oh my But seriously, I am happy to confess that this is not my area of the law, which is why I have not engaged in the specific content matter. It was uk1 comments about the barrister asking where the robbing room was that made me realise that the last time I stepped foot in a county court was seven years ago. (I thought my civil brethren gave up gowns in 2008.)

All the toing and froing is a nice intellectual debate, but it's still an attempt to synthesise a hypothetical situation into a concrete resolution. Or maybe it's turning water into wine. Anyway, that's the beauty of an internet forum: the apparently effortless flow of ideas and discussions without repercussion (save to an online ego, of course).

And it's still raining.

H

uk1

I think that your version ... ie robbing room is so much more appropriate than my robing room! In the event she just changed from her wet street gear to some designer stuff. She actually tried to intimidate us outside the room but failed ....

I really enjoy reading the opinions and wallow in intelligent debate which I so enjoy ... whether I agree with it or not. It is lovely to see respectful disagreement. It presents a real opportunity to learn rather than defend.

I was told when I worked for the corporation that I was confusing to work for because I would learn by debating and it sounded like interrogation I'm told. But it was simply a quick way of learning, and soak testing alternative ideas and views rigorously, and because I have no embarrassment about changing my mind, people would find it odd when it seemed like I was seemingly aggressively disagreeing with some one for half an hour and then I'd say "I agree ... your version of this is better than mine .... you've convinced me .... thanks".

Where would we be if there was insufficient people with better things to do .... it's just a bit if a shame that too much is still poster rather than post obsessive.

mrow

So why is ex EDI/GLA pricing not similar to ex-EU pricing then? From experience indirect routings from EDI/GLA on BA are usually more expensive than direct routings on the competition.

Calchas

Prices on TATL are almost flat UK wide, with a few quirks from time to time. Hence Belfast is usually twice the price of Dublin.

Oneworld joint venture no longer seems to price direct vs connecting differently, at least until we get close to departure (< 2 weeks) and booking codes start to fill up.

henkybaby

So... That's a no ?

mrow

That is exactly my point, so the previous analysis of indirect being of less 'value' (at least from the perspective of the AA/BA JBV) seems flawed as they themselves don't exercise this type of price differentiation. It seems their differentiation is based purely on the market in which the ticket is being sold and not on the direct vs indirect nature of the itinerary being sold.

I am not a legal expert so I am not sure what this would mean if something did end up going to court, but wouldn't it make it difficult for an airline to claim that an indirect itinerary is of less value than a direct one and to therefore use the direct vs indirect differentiation as a basis for levying a higher price to the customer who skips their last leg?

orbitmic

Airlines pricing model is that they normally establish one price for all directly served airports in a country (bar special promotions) so BA would have one "UK price", one "France price", one "German price" and not a London price and a Manchester price or a Paris price and a Nice price, etc. The differences are usually made up by taxes and charges.

Sadly, it always means that provincial flyers have the worst of both worlds (high prices and connections), so in practice, flying BA from MAN, AF from NCE, or LH from TXL virtually always guarantees you a bad deal.

BA4EVER

Wow, if ever there was an argument for ending the practice of law as it exists today and limiting all contracts to one page maximum of clear language interpreted under common sense rules by common sense judges, this thread is it.

Tobias-UK

This is only one minor aspect of an airline's pricing policy consideration and will have very little bearing on a court's thinking in the overall context of the legal arguments that would be advanced.

Cris L

+1

uk1

That is exactly why there is a test for clarity in the consumer regs.

Tobias-UK

Unfortunately the world is too complicated and the human race too selfish for this ever to be possible.

In my experience judges (in England at least) tend to be excellent at understanding the legal issues and are very discerning.

There is currently a drive to simplify contracts and conditions in consumer contracts but there is still a long way to go.

It would be impossible to restrict contracts and T&Cs to just one page in many instances. Remember a contract is a two way thing, the protections are there for both parties. Some are a little too onerous, I agree but to oversimplify them would create more problems than they would solve.