Antitrust, investigation on easyJet Airline for unfair commercial practice

The Antitrust Authority has opened an investigation against easyJet Airline Company Limited for unfair commercial practice. The company," reads a note, "would have structured, on its website and app, the online purchase procedure for the additional service of transporting luggage and/or sports equipment in the hold, for round-trip journeys, advertising only the average price of the service and proposing as a default option the cumulative purchase of the service for both routes, even when not actually interested.

The consumer - reads the note of the Competition and Market Authority - 'would thus be misled as to the actual price of the service for each leg of the journey and, in the event that he or she wished to purchase the ancillary service for only one of the legs, would have to take steps to overcome the default choice made by easyJet, interrupting the online booking procedure (via website or app)'.

According to the Authority, this conduct could constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice, within the meaning of Articles 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25 of the Consumer Code. The opening of the inquiry - concludes the note - "follows a moral suasion to which easyJet did not comply".

"We are aware of the investigation initiated by the Agcm and will fully cooperate with the Authority during the course of the investigation. We believe we have always operated in full compliance with current consumer protection regulations and we reiterate our commitment to guarantee transparency and fairness to our passengers. We will carefully examine the Authority's communication to assess the most appropriate action". This is easyJet's position on the investigation.