The low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced that it will discontinue its chargeable hotlines for existing customers and replace them with alternatives at local rates. This is the company's response to European legislation that has been in place for years and requires companies not to charge additional fees for calls to customer hotlines in connection with existing contracts. However, the implementation is only taking place after a long delay, which has provoked sharp criticism, especially in Austria and Germany.
Since the European Consumer Directive 2011/83/EU came into force, which has been binding in all member states since June 2014, it has been regulated that hotlines for contract inquiries may only be offered at the basic rate. These requirements were implemented in Austria through Section 6b of the Consumer Protection Act (KSchG). The paragraph stipulates that consumers may not be charged higher fees for calls relating to existing contracts than those for a normal call. The aim of this regulation is to protect consumers from excessive service charges and to ensure fairer communication with companies.
However, Wizz Air ignored these regulations for years. In Austria and other European countries, paid hotlines were used for inquiries about existing bookings, with consumers sometimes having to pay several euros per minute. Such practices are not only in clear contradiction to European and national legislation, but also significantly undermine customers' trust in the airline.
Wizz Air's decision to abolish the paid hotlines also comes against the backdrop of growing pressure from the authorities. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) made it clear in a landmark ruling in 2017 (Case C-568/15) that companies are obliged not to impose additional costs on consumers for service requests if these relate to existing contracts. Violations of these requirements have been repeatedly denounced by consumer protection organizations and supervisory authorities in the past.
In Austria in particular, where Wizz Air has a strong presence and carries more than two million passengers annually, the late implementation of the legal requirements is viewed critically. According to the Austrian Consumer Protection Act, the airline should have done without chargeable hotlines years ago. Wizz Air's failures raise the question of the extent to which the airline has neglected its obligations to customers to date.
In a recent statement, Wizz Air stressed that customer service remains a key area in which it is investing heavily. The company points to the introduction of new digital tools such as an online chatbot and an automated voice assistant to process passengers' queries more quickly. However, critics complain that these measures have been slow to come into effect and that they do not offer a substitute for personal, free advice, which many customers prefer when they have problems.
In Austria and the entire EU, the discontinuation of Wizz Air's chargeable hotlines is a long overdue step, but one that would not have been achieved without pressure from consumer protection organizations and legal requirements. The airline's delayed reaction to European and national consumer protection rules will leave many customers skeptical. It remains to be seen whether Wizz Air will act more proactively in the future and adhere more closely to applicable regulations.
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