'Airlines are not allowed to charge for printing boarding passes'

SPAIN/Andalucía (Agencies/Image: illustration only, from www.terminalu.com) The Junta de Andalucía's Health Council (Consejería de Salud, also in charge of consumer affairs, in case you wondered) has issued a warning to remind passengers that, by law, airlines must issue a ticket free of charge. They can therefore not charge for printing up a boarding pass when a passage has been bought online. Some airlines have been charging up to €40, says the Council. The only document that is legally valid for passenger access to an aircraft is a boarding pass. The matter arises because there has been a considerable increase in the number of cases reported about airlines that emit a boarding pass or ticket online and then "convert what should be an option for passengers, into an obligation," says the press release. The note also reminds consumers that "not only can the airline not charge for a boarding pass, but nor can they deny acces to the aircraft if they refuse to issue the pass without charge;" this is a serious matter that could bring fines on the company ranging from €5.001 to €30.000.>

The consumer department is carrying out a campaign, watching web sites, airline counters at airports and infomation points, on 54 airlines on which complaints have been issued, 31 of which are low cost.

Previous campaign

The department's previous campaign found that seven out of every ten airlines were committing offences. These included, among other things, not giving sufficient or adequate information, including clauses in contracts (tickets) such as reserving the right to change or increase the price of a ticket or its taxes once it has been issued. Airlines -using airports in Andalucía alone- were subject to 967 official complaints, 20.5% of which were related to embarkation problems (denial of embarkation, delays and cancellations, mainly).

Good advice

The Dirección General de Consumo of the Health Council advises airline customers to "look carefully at the conditions established before purchasing a ticket, especially from airlines that offer a boarding pass online."

If you do not have a boarding pass at the check-in counter and you are asked to pay for one, you should ask for an Hoja de Reclamación (Complaint Form) and register a complaint against "this abusive clause", which could lead to fines on the airline. It is no good to complain verbally, the complaint must be registered correctly, in wriing, which in turn could mean a return of the monies charged, if such is the case.

Passengers are also reminded in the press release about "possible restrictions regarding weight and/or the number of bags to be transported," depending on the airline. Prices charged for these, could have  considerable impact on the price of travel.

Should a ticket have been acquired online, says the note, it is advisable to check for additional charges for unrequested services and added on to the advertised price. This is especially applicable for optional insurance and priority boarding. "If any of these are detected, they should be reported immediately (via an Hoja de Reclamación) as these practices are also against the law."

Final advice is also given in the press release: "Before paying, check and re-check reservation dates and times, destinations and names, as certain types of tickets do not allow change or reimbursment once the ticket has been purchased."

(See: Ryanair loses court case over boarding pass fees)