ABTA 2004: Trading Standards under fire in heated debate
ABTA Convention Special: Federation of Tour Operators director Andy Cooper attacked the Trading Standards Institute over the lack of action against airlines that do not show inclusive pricing, during a lively debate at the ABTA Convention.
Speaking during the breakout session, “So Much For The Level Playing Field”, Cooper said he was “staggered” that Trading Standards had taken a year to provide evidence to the Office of Fair Trading.
“I was vocal about this last year and I’m staggered it’s taken another year to compile evidence,” he said.
Trading Standards Officer Bruce Treloar defended his position, saying it needed to gather evidence of the airlines’ behaviour and take guidance on how to act.
“The OFT said there would be an urgent review, but there was no definition of what is urgent,” admitted Treloar.
Cooper said tour operators had been an easy target for the government in the past.
“About three or four years ago they came down on us very hard about brochure descriptions,” he said.
“It seems to me that it’s much easier to get a conviction against a tour operator than taking on someone like British Airways or a big airline, so operators are an easy option.”
Trading Standards Officers in Essex have taken action against Ryanair over its pricing and a court hearing is due for February. But ABTA head of legal services Simon Bunce predicted the case could drag on.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryanair strings this out and the action is still pending at next year’s convention.”
Moderator John Stapleton asked Bunce why ABTA members bother to abide by the law and show inclusive pricing when airlines don’t play by the rules and consumers rarely complain.
“A lot of our members want to do things properly,” said Bunce. “They want to serve their customers and do not want to annoy them at the outset by adding on lots of extras.”
Cooper concluded: “The time for talking has passed. We need action on this and we will continue to make the point to the OFT. We also need people to complain about the airline practices. Often they book on the Internet and get frustrated at the extras but apart from maybe hitting their screens in frustration, they don’t do much more.”
Ginny McGrath
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