High cost of flights to Sardinia and Sicily, the Antitrust Authority begins discussions with the EU Commission: "More transparency is needed"
Investigation into algorithms, the Authority: «Poor comparability of prices and services»(Archive)
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There is a need for "greater transparency" "on pricing algorithms in passenger air transport for routes to and from Sicily and Sardinia" and "for this reason, also following the observations received from airlines after the publication of the Preliminary Report, the Antitrust has started a discussion with the European Commission".
This is what we read in a note from the Authority that has launched a fact-finding investigation on the subject. The comparison with the EU intends to verify "the initiatives to be adopted, within its powers, in order to facilitate the comparability of air fares and thus improve the competitive functioning of the markets concerned".
Air transport, the Antitrust reminds, «is subject to pervasive regulation at European level, which affects, among other things, the transparency and comparability of the relative tariffs. With regard to the fact-finding investigation, the Authority published the Preliminary Report containing the main results of the analyses carried out and identified possible critical issues regarding the transparency and comparability of the prices of air transport services. From the observations to the Report received from stakeholders and from subsequent in-depth analyses carried out, a poor comparability of the prices of airline tickets and ancillary services displayed to users continued to emerge, which results in significant research costs that make the consumer less aware of the price variables in their purchasing decisions, as it is difficult to calculate and compare the real price of airline tickets».
In particular, "the issue of comparability of offers arises in a context in which the purchase of flight accessory services - especially seat selection, cabin baggage, hold baggage - is an option exercised by almost half of travellers. The value of these services, moreover, represents a non-negligible share of airline revenues". For this reason, the Authority "believes that the use of tools that facilitate full and effective comparability of offers, also with reference to the price components for optional services, is very important to stimulate the mobility of demand and, therefore, to incentivise companies to compete on price".
(Online Union)