Continental Airlines, Inc. - 2009 Consent Orders (OST-2009-0001)
Order 2009-8-3
OST-2009-0001 - 2009 Consent Orders
Continental Airlines, Inc.
Issued and Served 10-Aug-2009
Consent Order
This consent order concerns Internet advertisements by Continental Airlines, Inc., that violate the full fare advertisement requirements specified in 14 CFR Part 399 and 49 U.S.C. § 41712, which prohibits unfair and deceptive practices. This order directs Continental to cease and desist from future violations, and assesses the carrier a compromise civil penalty of $75,000.
For a period of time, Continental advertised fares on the main “Special Offers” webpage and on subsequent pages internal to that section of the website that did not contain appropriate notice of the amount or nature of additional taxes and fees that were excluded from the advertised fare at the first point in which the fares were displayed or at least via a hyperlink that would take consumers directly to a webpage or pop-up that contains the appropriate notice. Potential customers were presented initially with a page listing choices of base fares that applied to various featured destinations, only to be shown on a subsequent page the amount of taxes and fees that were in addition to those base fares.
Furthermore, Continental quoted numerous fares for travel between various featured destinations followed only by the statements “each way” or “one-way.” For example, one quoted fare advertised, “Europe Summer Sale fares starting at $186 each way,” and another stated, “Explore the stunning natural scenery of Canada with fares starting at $93 one way.” Despite the fact that such fares were available only if purchased on a roundtrip basis, Continental failed to provide the clear and conspicuous disclosures of the roundtrip purchase requirement proximate to the advertised fares required by the Department’s long-standing enforcement case precedent. It was only after selecting a “special offer” and being taken to a subsequent webpage that consumers were made aware of the existence of the roundtrip purchase requirement.
In mitigation and explanation, Continental states that it is committed to full compliance with the Department’s full fare advertising requirements and all applicable laws and regulations, and that Continental cooperated fully with the Department in this matter. Continental asserts that customers received appropriate notice about taxes and fees multiple times subsequent to the initial display of the fares, including when selecting a specific itinerary, completing necessary steps in the booking process, and immediately before purchasing a ticket. Continental points out that on a proactive and voluntary basis it took immediate action to modify its webpage to address the Department’s concerns fully and effectively. In addition, Continental states that it has bolstered its website compliance process further to help ensure that these issues do not arise in future website advertising. Continental emphasizes that any alleged non-compliance on its part with the Department’s full fare advertising requirements was completely unintentional and inadvertent.
We view seriously the failure of Continental Airlines, Inc., to state the entire price to be paid by the consumer at the first point at which the fare is displayed as required by 14 CFR Part 399. Accordingly, after carefully considering all of the facts in this case, including those set forth above, the Enforcement Office believes that enforcement action is warranted. In order to avoid litigation and without admitting or denying any alleged violations, Continental Airlines, Inc., agrees to the issuance of this order to cease and desist from future similar violations of Part 399 and 49 U.S.C. § 41712, and to the assessment of $75,000 in compromise of potential civil penalties otherwise assessable against it, which amount is payable as described in the ordering paragraphs below. We believe that this compromise assessment is appropriate in view of the nature and extent of the violations in question, serves the public interest, and provides a meaningful incentive to all airlines to comply with the Department’s full fare advertising rule.
Source: AirlineInfo, http://airlineinfo.com
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