Increasing the price of already purchased airline tickets is not permitted in most situations, even when there are variations in airline operating costs, including fuel. The issue was discussed again after warnings about possible additional charges for passengers with already confirmed reservations.
According to , this practice is considered illegal when applied to tickets already purchased, even though some companies, especially low-cost ones, are supposedly trying to justify adjustments with the increase in energy prices. Volotea, for example, is one of the low-cost airlines that warns about the possibility of charging more after the ticket has already been paid.
“If prices go up, we could charge up to €27 per passenger”
“Instead of including fuel costs in your fare, we base it on the actual market price. 7 days before departure, we will review the fuel price and, if necessary, we can adjust the price of your ticket. If prices go up, we can charge up to €27 per passenger per flight. If prices go down, we will refund the difference”, it reads in relation to a booking simulation for the Lisbon – Asturias route.
To Jornal de Notícias, experts in passenger rights warn that the amount paid at the time of purchase must be considered definitive, except in very specific situations provided for in legislation. Lawyer Pedro Miguel Madaleno, specialist in passenger rights and representative of AirHelp in Portugal, explains that the ticket price cannot be changed after purchase, except when there are additional fees clearly identified at the time of booking.
Experts are paying attention
The same source adds that the costs associated with fuel are already included in the final ticket price and cannot be passed on later to the passenger through unilateral increases. The same newspaper reports that there have been reports of attempts to charge additional amounts after issuing tickets, a situation that has generated alerts from experts in the field of consumer protection.
The AirHelp website explains that, to date, no significant formal complaints have been registered regarding these practices or cancellations associated with recent contexts of international instability.
There is an exception to the rule
According to the same source, there is, however, an exception provided for in the law, applicable to organized group trips, where prices may be revised if relevant changes occur in costs, particularly in fuel or other energy sources.
Outside this specific framework, there is no legal basis for increasing the price of a ticket after it has been purchased, the value being considered final at the time of purchase.
Lawyer Pedro Miguel Madaleno, cited by the publication, reinforces that any attempt at additional charges outside these conditions must be reported to the competent authorities, highlighting that the existing rules aim to guarantee the protection of passengers and the predictability of prices in the airline sector.
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