Indirect flight ticket buyer wins suit against airline

Indirect flight ticket buyer wins suit against airline

By Kwon Mee-yoo A district court ruled Tuesday that a consumer can file a compensation suit against an airline company even if the ticket was not purchased directly from the carrier but through a tour agency. The customer who had bought an airline ticket through a tour agency and paid the charges for ticket cancellation won a suit against the airline which was ordered to compensate the customer directly. This is the first court decision enabling a consumer to file a lawsuit against a company even though they did not directly have a contract with the corporate entity. Analysts said the ruling is significant as it will increase customers’ rights, allowing “indirect buyers” to file suits against companies selling products through a myriad of channels. The Seoul Central District Court ruled Wednesday in favor of Kang Seong-deok, 55, who filed a damage suit against Cathay Pacific Airways, ordering the airline to pay 5.6 million won to Kang. The court said though Kang bought the ticket through a travel agency and is an indirect purchaser, he can still demand compensation for violation of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. “If the direct purchaser is slapped with an excessive cancellation penalty from the seller, the seller is likely to pass it onto the purchaser. More than one middleman in the trade will eventually result in the damage passed on the final customer,” the court said. “If the final purchaser is banned from filing a suit against the original seller, it’s tantamount to restricting customers’ rights.” The court recognized the need to levy cancellation charges as the airline has time constraints in selling the tickets. However, it said it was “abuse of their authority” to impose a 20-percent penalty for cancelling the reservation a month in advance. Kang operates an overseas education center and reserved 69 airline tickets through two travel agencies in 2006. He returned 31 of them one month before the departure and was charged a cancellation fee of about 20 percent of the ticket prices. He thought the penalty was too high and filed a report to the FTC as well as filing a complaint with the prosecution. However, they did not accept Kang’s complaint as he did not purchase the tickets directly from the air carrier and he took legal action against the airline firsthand. In European countries, indirect purchasers can file lawsuits against companies, but there was no precedent in Korea, court officials said. Since the FTC is the only organization overseeing the violation of fair trade regulations, this ruling will encourage more individual consumers to claim for damages against corporations through lawsuits. 티켓 간접 구매자 대(對)항공사 승소 여행사를 통해 항공티켓을 산후 취소 위약금을 문 소비자가 항공사를 상대로 한 소송에서 직접 보상받아야 한다는 판결을 얻어냈다. 소비자가 직접 계약을 하지 않은 회사를 상대로 하는 소송 여부에 대한 최초의 법원 1심 결정이다. 서울중앙지방법원은 수요일 캐세이퍼시픽항공을 상대로 손해배상 소송을 낸 강성덕(55)씨의 손을 들어주며 피고에게 560만원을 지급하라고 판결을 내렸다. 법원은 강씨가 여행사를 통해 구매해 간접 구매자이지만 독점금지및공정거래법의 위반으로 그는 손해배상을 요구할 수 있다고 말했다.

meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr