Kiwi.com to offer legal assistance for customers in ‘throwaway ticketing’ cases

Move comes after it was revealed Lufthansa is suing a customer who bought discounted fare and failed to use a second leg of the ticket

Price comparison site Kiwi.com is to provide legal assistance for airline passengers who face prosecution in so-called “throwaway ticketing” cases.

The move comes after it was revealed Lufthansa is suing a customer who bought discounted fare and failed to use a second leg of the ticket.

Kiwi.com said the contract of carriage stipulations that airlines use may often be confusing and can lead to legal consequences that are unreasonable.

“If a customer travelling with tickets bought through Kiwi.com finds themselves on the receiving end of such unreasonable actions, the company will offer assistance to its customers in such lawsuits and, if reasonable for the solution of the case after prior agreement with Kiwi.com, also cover legal fees,” the firm said.

Kiwi.com says it would like to clear up the confusion surrounding contracts of carriage and the consumers’ right to choose how they use the product they purchase.

Oliver Dlouhý, Kiwi.com chief executive, said: “At Kiwi.com we want to make travel better for everyone.

“We want to make it clear that we will always stay on the side of our customers in relation to predatory behaviour while making sure they always have access to the best deals.

“Our customers are always at the front of our minds — even if it means helping them in the legal area in cases such as these.

“We know much of the travel industry is broken and built on archaic structures that benefit the big players. We want to be part of the solution, not the problem, and invite everyone to join us in a common goal — making travel better.”

David Liškutin, chief legal officer at Kiwi.com, added: “The legal situation related to certain airline’s conditions of carriage is confusing and complicated for travellers, and it is hard to foresee certain legal outcomes of their travel behaviour.

“We hold a rather liberal point of view because we trust in free will and the right to free choice in respect to the use of the product customers purchase from service providers, including airlines.

“We think that customers should have the liberty to choose whether they will use the service and to what extent, without the risk of being penalised.

“In this regard, we offer them our aid in the case they are sued for exercising their right to free choice.”