International Air Transport Association Tariff Conference

Order 2007-9-16
OST-2006-26409

Issued September 14, 2007 | Served September 19, 2007

Order Amending Exemption | Word

We will grant the expanded exemptions as requested, under the same conditions.  We find that an expansion of the Flex Fare mechanism to include IATA interline fares for travel within Europe, as defined by IATA for purposes of its TC2 geographic tariff conference, is consistent with the public interest for the reasons stated in Order 2006-12-24.  While technically, the prior block exemption from EU competition law for tariff coordination between the ECAA and other points in Europe is still in force, we have no fundamental concern that IATA’s new mechanism will differ when the other European states and regions are added.  The intra-ECAA markets are by far the predominant ones within the TC2 (Europe) tariff conference, and it makes practical sense for IATA to apply its new procedures in their entirety to the whole geographic conference. More significantly, as we noted in Order 2006-12-24, IATA fares for travel not only within the EU but within Europe in general typically present no public interest concerns justifying our review of agreements limited to such travel.

For similar reasons, we will also expand our exemption to cover passenger and cargo agency conference resolutions that apply solely to agents within Europe as defined by IATA in its amended request.

Finally, we will grant the expanded exemption requested for the Europe-South West Pacific and Europe-South Asian Subcontinent regions, as defined by IATA for purposes of its TC2-3 geographic tariff conference.  This exemption would cover both an expansion of the Flex Fare mechanism to include IATA interline fares for travel between Europe and the South West Pacific and South Asian Subcontinent as well as passenger and cargo agency conference resolutions that apply solely to agents within Europe and the South West Pacific and the South Asian Subcontinent.

By: Andrew Steinberg