Adria in trouble

The Slovenian Consumer Association suspects that the Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways has a cartel agreement with Brussels Airlines, it was announced yesterday. The Belgian carrier and Adria, the only carriers flying between Ljubljana and Brussels, both charge nearly 800 Euros for a return ticket. Code sharing between the two airlines began during Slovenia’s presidency of the European Union that lasted from January to June 2008. This week both companies, for a return ticket from Ljubljana to Brussels, charged slightly less than 800 Euros. As a result the Slovenian Consumer Association suspects that there is enough proof to show that price fixing is being carried out between the two airlines. It is interesting to note that a return ticket from Ljubljana to Berlin via Brussels costs only 500 Euros. The Association believes that the regular return ticket to Brussels from Ljubljana should cost approximately 300 Euros. On flights where there is significant competition (most notably Paris and London), Adria’s ticket prices are much more reasonable and competitive.

Due to the high price of Adria’s tickets many passengers are choosing to drive to Zagreb, Vienna or Trieste and depart from those airports. Adria Airways could be found guilty of price fixing by Slovenian law. Recently British Airways admitted to price fixing.