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Airlines suggest €50 charge for claims mediation

German airlines have suggested that passengers seeking refunds or compensation for travel problems should pay €50 to have their case heard by a mediator in order to reduce the number of unjustified claims.

Published: 26 February 2011 11:36 CET

Airlines suggest €50 charge for claims mediation

Not everyone has €50 to make a complaint about travel problems. Photo: DPA

The Justice Ministry is discussing new regulations for the mediation of arguments in the air transport industry, and has invited suggestions from all sides.

The Saarbrücker Zeitung reported on Saturday that the Federal Association of Airlines (BDF) has suggested establishing a mediator to decide on complaints – with a €50 fee.

Such a fee would block “a flood of unjustified claims,” the BDF said.

This suggestion illustrates “how much the airlines fear mediation,” said Markus Tressel, expert on the matter for the Green Party.

He said the government should finally do something for passengers rather than always bowing to the airlines.

Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberg announced recently she wanted to force the airlines to take part in mediation procedures when passengers had complaints – as attempts to get the airlines to do so voluntarily have so far failed.

DAPD/hc

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Why now is a good time to buy a car in Switzerland

Many cars in Switzerland remain unsold. Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP

The law of economics dictates that when the supply of goods is high and the demand is low, the prices will drop. This is currently the case with cars in Switzerland.

In times of crisis, as evidenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, people are uncertain about the future and reluctant to spend their money on luxury items like new automobiles.

In fact, “the coronavirus has caused consumer sentiment in Switzerland to hit a historic low”, according to a report by the state Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

READ MORE: UPDATE: Coronavirus-hit Swiss economy shrinks 2.6 percent in first quarter

The Swiss automobile market has also been impacted by this downward trend, resulting in substantial decrease in sales.

According to Swiss association of car importers, Auto Suisse, “economic uncertainties translate into weak demand”.

“In the past month only 13,890 new passenger cars have been registered in Switzerland, which is 50.5 percent less than a year ago”, the association added.

So if you are planning to purchase a new car, now is the time to do it.

“After the period of confinement, stocks are saturated”, Dino Graf, communications manager of the Amag group, Swiss importers of VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat, and Porsche, told Le Matin newspaper.

“As our manufacturers have reduced their production in recent months, and the new vehicles have not yet arrived in Switzerland, the warehouses are full”, he added.

For instance, Le Matin calculated that by using the discount offered by car dealers on the vehicles they have in stock — the so-called ‘stock premium’— a customer could save 6,000 francs on a new Peugeot 308.

And leasing is available at 0 percent for certain automobiles— making the purchase of a new car even less costly.

However, Le Matin predicted that the discounts will likely not last long and “prices will go up at the end of the year”, as the economy slowly recovers.

All the information about costs associated with car ownership in Switzerland can be found here.

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