The air services market in the European Community was fully liberalised in 1992. The operation of the market is governed by common rules which were recently updated and are set out in a European Regulation (No. 1008/2008). This Regulation entered into force in November last year and has direct application in all Member States. Under the common rules set out in the EU Regulation airlines can freely set fares for air services offered within the Community and this has been the case since 1992 when the market was first opened up.
In the EU Regulation, new provisions have been introduced requiring greater pricing transparency. When publishing or advertising air fares, airlines must now include all applicable conditions and all applicable taxes and charges which are unavoidable and foreseeable at the time of publication. These pricing transparency provisions were introduced because the fare structure in the industry in recent years has changed significantly with many airlines now having differentiated pricing structures consisting of a basic fare with a number of optional pricing elements. The new rules require greater transparency in pricing information but airlines still have full pricing freedom. This will ensure that consumers have fuller information available to them in making their travel choices.
The broader issue of consumer protection legislation falls within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment.
