{"id":6283,"date":"2026-05-06T16:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weisenheimer.law\/?p=6283"},"modified":"2026-05-06T16:19:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:19:50","slug":"new-supreme-court-ruling-on-gcc-ticket-sequence-rebooking-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weisenheimer.law\/en\/new-supreme-court-ruling-on-gcc-ticket-sequence-rebooking-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"New Supreme Court Ruling on GCC (Ticket Sequence, Rebooking Fees)"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) recently issued a new judgment (2 Ob 202\/25g<\/a>) concerning an airline\u2019s General Conditions of Carriage (GCC) and thereby provided further practical clarification, particularly with regard to ticket sequence requirements and rebooking fees.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the OGH examined three clauses, which are discussed in detail below:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Compliance with Ticket Sequence \/ No-Show Clause<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The first clause required passengers to comply with the ticket sequence as booked. The background is that, due to airline pricing structures, flights with stopovers or round-trip bookings are sometimes cheaper than corresponding one-way flights purchased separately. This issue was already addressed in detail in our article entitled \u201cNo-Show Clauses\u201d, available here<\/u>.<\/p>\n

    Such clauses have repeatedly been the subject of litigation before Austrian courts. Originally, GCC regularly provided that any violation of the ticket sequence or any no-show would automatically result in the cancellation of the remaining booking. In response to the case law of the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) and the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH), many airlines amended their GCC. Under the revised provisions, airlines would merely recalculate the ticket price, while cases in which \u201cthe passenger\u2019s travel plans simply change\u201d would no longer fall within the scope of such clauses. The intention was to comply with the requirements established by the courts, according to which recalculations may only affect passengers who intentionally circumvent the airline\u2019s pricing system.<\/p>\n

    The Austrian consumer association Verein f\u00fcr Konsumenteninformation (VKI) nevertheless challenged such a clause[1]<\/a> again, arguing that it was non-transparent and therefore violated Section 6(3) of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act (KSchG). The VKI primarily argued that the clause contained a reference to another unlawful clause.<\/p>\n

    The OGH ruled in favour of the airline, holding that the clause used by the airline did not contain any reference to another unlawful clause. The Court further stated that the clause itself \u2013 which the VKI did not contest in its appeal \u2013 was neither non-transparent nor grossly disadvantageous. According to the OGH, the clause complies with the requirements established by supreme court case law concerning an almost identical clause (4 Ob 164\/12i<\/a>) and is also consistent with the corresponding case law of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) (X ZR 110\/24<\/a>).<\/p>\n

    In this context, the provision stating that the airline may make carriage of the passenger conditional upon payment of the difference between the recalculated ticket price and the original ticket price is remarkable. Such a \u201cconditional carriage\u201d mechanism may, in practice, come close to a forfeiture clause, which had previously been viewed critically by the courts. In case Xa ZR 5\/09<\/a>, for example, the BGH held that the protection of the airline\u2019s tariff structure could sufficiently be achieved by requiring the passenger to pay a higher fare, rather than cancelling the booking entirely. The new OGH decision did not address this aspect.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Different Rebooking Fees Depending on Fare Type<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The VKI also challenged the fact that passengers were required to pay different rebooking fees depending on the fare selected.<\/p>\n

      Specifically, during the booking process passengers could choose between four \u201cEconomy\u201d fare types, each providing for different rebooking fees (Light: EUR 200, Basic: EUR 150, Plus: EUR 120, Flex: no fee).<\/p>\n

      The VKI considered these clauses to be grossly disadvantageous and non-transparent because the fees allegedly exceeded the actual costs incurred by the airline as a result of a rebooking and lacked any objective justification. Furthermore, passengers were allegedly unable to understand the differing fee levels.<\/p>\n

      The OGH did not follow this line of argument and held that the airline had clearly and unambiguously specified the applicable rebooking fees. In the Court\u2019s view, the introduction of different fare categories with varying rebooking options and related fees constitutes a legitimate aspect of the airline\u2019s pricing structure. Furthermore, the fees did not constitute disguised remuneration (such as registration fees) or reimbursement for a specific expense allegedly incurred (such as credit processing fees).<\/p>\n

      Since the Court found neither a lack of transparency under Section 6(3) KSchG nor a gross disadvantage under Section 879(3) of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB), it did not consider it necessary to address in detail any issues relating to Regulation (EC) No 1008\/2008 under EU law.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Information Sheet on Processing Fees<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Finally, the VKI challenged provisions concerning processing fees, which it considered surprising and disadvantageous \u2013 and therefore invalid under Section 864a ABGB \u2013 as well as grossly disadvantageous and non-transparent.<\/p>\n

        According to the airline, however, and as confirmed by the OGH, the document in question merely constituted an information sheet intended to inform consumers and was not intended to create any rights or obligations. Since the document merely provided information, such provisions could not be the subject of an injunction action brought by a consumer association. For this reason alone, the VKI\u2019s claim for injunctive relief had to be dismissed.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Our experienced Aviation Team<\/u><\/a> is happy to answer your questions about the use of General Conditions of Carriage in Austria, review your GCC to reduce the risk of legal proceedings, and represent you in court.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        [1]<\/a> The relevant clause provides as follows:<\/p>\n

        For the carriage of consumers domiciled in Austria, the following shall apply:<\/em><\/p>\n

        If you have selected a fare that requires compliance with a fixed ticket sequence, please note that if you do not use transportation on all flight segments, or not in the sequence of the individual segments specified in the ticket, while all other travel data remain unchanged, we will recalculate the airfare in accordance with your modified itinerary. This shall not apply where your travel plans simply change or where you are prevented from using transportation on all flight segments or in the sequence specified in the ticket due to force majeure, illness, or any other reason beyond your control. Where possible, please inform us of the relevant reasons without undue delay after becoming aware of them. In the event of a recalculation, the airfare will be determined based on the fare that would have applied within your fare category on the date of booking for your actual itinerary. This fare may be higher or lower than the airfare originally paid.<\/em><\/p>\n

        If the fare category originally booked by you was unavailable for the modified itinerary on the date of booking, the recalculation shall be based on the lowest available fare category for your modified itinerary on that date.<\/em><\/p>\n

        If a higher airfare would have applied to your modified itinerary on the date of booking, we will collect the difference after crediting the airfare already paid. Please note that we may make transportation conditional upon payment of the fare difference.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) recently issued a new judgment (2 Ob 202\/25g) concerning an airline\u2019s General Conditions of Carriage (GCC)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[238],"tags":[701,723,700,724,272,1093,1092,312,243,500,935,725,340,1091,247,726,249,749,250,750,251,252,254,145,259,146,260],"yoast_head":"\nNew Supreme Court Ruling on GCC (Ticket Sequence, Rebooking Fees) - Weisenheimer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new Austrian Supreme Court ruling addresses clauses contained in GCC relating to ticket sequence requirements and rebooking fees.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weisenheimer.law\/en\/new-supreme-court-ruling-on-gcc-ticket-sequence-rebooking-fees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Supreme Court Ruling on GCC (Ticket Sequence, Rebooking Fees) - 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