The low-cost airline Ryanair suffered a legal defeat before the Vienna Higher Regional Court. The Vienna Chamber of Labor had filed a lawsuit against 35 clauses in the General Conditions of Carriage. Of these, 32 were overturned by the court.

In addition to many unclear formulations and impermissible restrictions on the assertion of claims, various fees are also prohibited. Essential for consumers: the illegal check-in fee if not clearly stated during the booking process. The wrongly charged check-in fee can be recovered with the AK sample letter.

In the first instance, the Commercial Court of Vienna had declared several clauses in Ryanair's General Conditions of Carriage to be inadmissible. On the other hand, the Irish low-coster appealed to the Vienna Higher Regional Court. This largely confirmed the judgment of the Vienna Commercial Court. Once again, the check-in fees, which had already been overturned at the former airline Laudamotion, were the lynchpin of the Chamber of Labour's legal action.

The levying of the check-in fee is inadmissible if Ryanair has not already clearly and unequivocally pointed out the amount during the booking process. In the meantime, the carrier has changed the look of the reservation process and is actually pointing this out. The fee for reissuing the boarding pass (20 euros if you don't have it with you) is also not allowed. Other fees are also illegal, such as a separate fee for the refund of taxes - for example, if the flight is canceled - if the airline is at fault. The deadline for refunding the money to consumers is also far too short.

Non-transparent general terms and conditions In the conditions of carriage, numerous clauses are formulated unclearly, there are general and cascading references. Many provisions are illegible for consumers, sometimes formulated incomprehensibly and contain numerous cross-references. This also makes it difficult to read. For example, air passengers must not be forced to compare different contractual provisions and to check them for contradictions. Other non-transparent provisions relate to regulations on the booking process, booking fees, various provisions on baggage and the payment process.

Inadmissible procedure when asserting claims The courts judged clauses with which an unbelievable "Ryanair procedure" is imposed on air passengers for the assertion of their claims to be grossly disadvantageous and therefore inadmissible. Also illegal is a price change clause, according to which changes to the travel dates or route can affect the price to be paid, as well as a prohibition on assignment.

Get the check-in fee back from Ryanair – this is how it works: Until the legal clarification, the AK recommended paying the check-in fee only subject to the legal clarification and reclaim and to request the reimbursement of the fees in writing from the airline. Anyone who was not informed about the airport check-in fee during the entire booking process can now retrieve it with the AK sample letter: www.arbeiterkammer.at/ryanair.