Vueling, a designated airline
Vueling is one of the low cost airlines that has been singled out by the Spanish government to charge a supplement to passengers who carry hand luggage on their flights. This practice could have consequences for the airline as it could face sanctions. According to the 2023 financial report of its parent, IAG, this situation is recognized and Vueling is not expected to change its commercial policy in this respect. Despite the possible sanctions, the airline assures that it will continue to charge for cabin bags as it has been until now and has not made provisions to deal with this situation.
Legal and regulatory procedures
IAG has provided €58 million for all legal and regulatory proceedings opened against the company in the various markets in which it operates, but excludes the Vueling hand luggage matter. This indicates that they do not consider it likely that there will be an outflow of financial resources in relation to this procedure. However, during the 2023 financial year, Vueling received requests for information from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in Spain regarding its hand luggage commercial policy and complied with these requests.
The charge sheet of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs
On January 12, 2024, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs sent Vueling a statement of charges stating that the airline’s hand luggage commercial policy violates consumer rights under Article 47.1 of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007 . Consum notifies Vueling of its intention to sanction it for this infringement and stipulates that the basis for determining the sanctions is subject to the provision of additional information by the company. IAG believes that it is not possible to reliably estimate the exposure that may arise from this matter until the ongoing proceedings with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs continue to progress.
Defense arguments of Vueling
IAG, together with its advisers, has reviewed the correspondence and charge sheet from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and believes it has strong arguments to support its commercial hand luggage policy. The Company does not believe that an adverse outcome is likely to occur in the future and therefore has not recorded any provision. However, they expect news on this matter during the course of 2024.
Possible penalties
The Spanish government foresees penalties of up to 1 million euros for airlines that violate consumer rights. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is investigating not only the charge for cabin baggage, but also other surcharges that airlines apply for other services. The fines range from 10,001 to 100,000 euros for serious infringements and from 100,001 to 1 million euros for very serious infringements. Vueling is one of the seven airlines filed, along with Ryanair, easyJet, Volotea and three other unknown companies.
Criticism of possible sanctions
Some companies and consumer organizations have warned that the fines may be insufficient compared to the profits the airlines make each year. Vueling, for example, closed the 2023 financial year with a result of 393 million euros. This has generated a debate about the need to establish stronger sanctions to ensure compliance with consumer rights.
