The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the "victory" on hand luggage. Pobeda lost its claim on free hand luggage

MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. Supreme Court(The Supreme Court of Russia rejected the claim of Pobeda Airlines, demanding a partial cancellation of transportation rules hand luggage, which allow the passenger to take flowers, a backpack, a handbag and some other things into the cabin in excess of the 5 kg limit, a TASS correspondent reports.

“The airline’s claim must be rejected,” reads the court’s decision. The defendants in the lawsuit were the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Transport.

As stated by Pobeda CEO Andrei Kalmykov and lawyer Genrikh Padva, the airline will appeal the decision. “We, of course, will appeal this decision, since we see the unenforceability of such rules,” Kalmykov said. “But if the decision comes into force, then after the appeal we will be forced to reconsider our rules.” According to him, “the turnover schedule aircraft will change," which will lead to an increase in ticket prices.

According to the lawyer, the company will appeal the court's decision to the appellate court.

Background

Litigation in the case began in the spring. The airline, after changing the legislation on the carriage of hand luggage and introducing mandatory free carriage of at least 5 kg of luggage, introduced its own rules: they are not tied to the weight of luggage, but limit the dimensions to 36x30x27 centimeters in three dimensions.

In April, Pobeda lost a court case with the prosecutor's office regarding compliance with paragraph 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. According to this clause, passengers, in addition to the established free baggage allowance, can take on board a hand bag, a backpack, a bouquet of flowers, baby food, outerwear, a suit in a suitcase, medicines, a device for carrying a child, canes, crutches, walkers, a wheelchair, rollators and goods purchased in duty free stores. In May, Pobeda filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation demanding that the new rules for carrying hand luggage on airplanes, which were adopted in the fall of 2017, be partially invalidated.

Pobeda asked to remove a handbag, a backpack, a bouquet of flowers, and a suit in a briefcase from the list of free items for carriage, leaving all other items on the list. At the same time, a bag, backpack and other items are allowed for free transportation if they correspond to the dimensions specified by the company. The Ministry of Transport insisted on postponing the consideration of the case. According to its representatives, the department is now developing another bill that will transfer the entire list from FAP-135 to FAP-133.

Positions of the parties

In addition to Kalmykov and Padva, the head of the legal department, Alexey Tankevich, spoke on the side of Pobeda in court. The airline justified its lawsuit by saying that allowing excess carry-on luggage threatens the safety of passengers.

During the court hearing, representatives of Pobeda, for clarity, while explaining their demands to cancel the free carriage of some items, demonstrated a calibrator for determining the dimensions of luggage. Kalmykov, proving the company’s position, explained that the low-cost airline ordered a special study from Boeing (TASS has a copy of it), in which the manufacturer came to the conclusion that for the safe transportation of 189 passengers on board (the maximum load of the Pobeda aircraft), each passenger can place one piece of hand luggage measuring 36x30x27 cm in three dimensions on the top shelf.

At the same time, Kalmykov noted, Pobeda cannot ask the passenger to stow his hand luggage under the seat in front: the layout of the aircraft is as tight as possible and there is only room under the seat for the passenger’s legs. “The design of our specific aircraft is such that the layout of the aircraft is made taking into account maximum density. We use so-called thin seats to transport as much as possible large quantity passengers. The legroom is 29 inches. It’s very small, so there’s no space for hand luggage downstairs,” he said.

Kalmykov also added that with the existing rules he cannot ensure the safety of passengers. Moreover, Kalmykov said during the meeting that the current requirements for hand luggage were developed without taking into account the passenger capacity of aircraft and their types. According to him, now the requirements are the same for narrow-body aircraft and to wide-body long-haul aircraft.

In turn, lawyers from the Ministry of Transport told the court that the rules were developed in agreement with the airline and taking into account passenger complaints. “When authorizing the carriage of a list of things in excess of the norm, it was taken into account that some things cannot be weighed, while others are essential items during the flight,” the lawyer noted.

The Prosecutor General's Office supported the Ministry of Transport in court, considering that the disputed paragraph of the rules complied with the law. The court decision has not yet entered into force and can be appealed.

Illustration: Pravo.ru/Petr Kozlov

The Supreme Court considered the claim of Pobeda Airlines. The low-cost airline of the Aeroflot group demanded that the clause in the rules for the carriage of hand luggage, obliging the carrier to accept on board things in excess of the 5 kg limit - backpacks, handbags, bouquets and suits in a suitcase, be declared illegal. Passengers are being abused, regulations were adopted without taking into account technical characteristics aircraft, and there was simply nowhere to put things in the cabin, representatives of the carrier insisted.

The essence of the dispute

The respondents in the dispute were the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Justice. The company demanded that clause 135 of the General Rules be declared illegal air transport passengers, baggage and cargo, approved by order of the Ministry of Transport in October 2017. The disputed clause contains a list of items that can be taken on board in excess of the free hand luggage limit, which today is 5 kg. The list included a backpack, a handbag, a bouquet of flowers, outerwear, baby food for a child during the flight, a suit in a suitcase, a device for carrying a child, medications in the amount necessary for the flight, special crutches, canes, walkers, rollators and others rehabilitation equipment, a folding wheelchair and goods purchased at duty free. Everything, with the exception of “socially significant items” - medicines, baby food, baby carriers and medical equipment - should not be transported free of charge, Pobeda believes.

is the minimum weight of hand luggage for a flight passenger. The rest is designated as "excess" carry-on baggage.

The position of the applicants, who, in addition to representatives of the air carrier itself, were represented in court by lawyer Genrikh Padva, was that the Ministry of Transport unlawfully invaded the sphere of legal regulation of the Air Code and arbitrarily established the carrier’s obligation to accept things in excess of the free carry-on baggage allowance established by paragraphs. 2.1 clause 2 art. 106 VK and clause 133 FAP-82. Such an obligation is not provided for by federal law, Pobeda representatives insisted.

In addition, they drew the court’s attention to the fact that the contested paragraph contradicts paragraph 133 of the same rules. The carrier has mutually exclusive responsibilities: on the one hand, he must carry hand luggage, the weight and dimensions of which allow it to be safely placed in the cabin (clause 133 of FAP-82), on the other hand, he must accept items additional to hand luggage without taking into account their weight and dimensions and the ability to place them safely - with the exception of a backpack (clause 135 of FAP-82), despite the fact that given the dimensions of the aircraft this is impossible.

The Ministry of Transport has expanded the norm

Meanwhile, a week before the consideration of the case, the Ministry of Transport decided to finally resolve the issue of hand luggage and presented a bill proposing to change clause 133 of the FAP. According to the bill, the text of which is published on the official portal of regulatory legal acts, it is proposed to completely eliminate the weighing of items that can be taken on board in addition to hand luggage (exceeding the 5 kg required by law), including women's handbags, briefcases, bouquets of flowers, etc. d.

In other words, it is proposed to exclude the free carriage of bags, briefcases and other things from clause 135 of the FAP as carriage “in excess of the norm” and make the transportation of these items part of this free norm for the carrier.

The free carry-on baggage allowance also does not include the weight of a backpack, packaged goods from duty free and devices for carrying a child (baby cradle, car seat for children under 2 years old, strollers, etc.). At the same time, the carrier can limit the weight and dimensions of these items so that they can be safely placed in the cabin. So they will have to be weighed. According to the current version of the rules, if the carry-on baggage allowance is at least 5 kg, there are no exceptions for weighing.

PENALT FOR OVERBOOKING

suggested by the Ministry of Transport. It is proposed to collect fines in favor of passengers. The ministry refused to legalize overbooking.

Representatives of the Ministry of Transport petitioned to postpone the consideration of the case, citing the fact that the bill directly related to the contested provisions was under consideration. But the presiding judge rejected the request, agreeing with the prosecutor and the applicant that this did not change the disputed circumstances.

Three fur coats and an oversized handbag

During the hearing, the applicants again stated their position. They emphasized: in Art. 106 VK states that passengers have the right to free carry-on luggage within the limits established by the carrier in accordance with the FAP, approved on the basis of the requirements of the aircraft’s operational documentation. It was the approval of the requirements that raised the most questions.

The airline's representative, General Director Andrei Kalmykov, emphasized that no one took into account the characteristics of their aircraft, although the standards proposed by Pobeda for the volume of hand luggage are based on the recommendation presented by by Boeing: things can only be placed on shelves, but not under seats, and exceeding the luggage volume limits will affect both the safety and comfort of passengers. The Ministry of Transport stated that the approval of the requirements was carried out by a working group, including carriers and passengers, and was based on the “average parameters” of the aircraft. At the same time, standards for hand luggage were drawn up, taking into account the fact that things can be placed on luggage racks and under the seat in front. There is no such possibility on Pobeda aircraft. The judge’s question about how FAP should be applied to Pobeda, taking into account the balance of interests of the parties, remained unanswered.

Only you have problems, other carriers have no complaints,” representatives of the Ministry of Transport indicated.

“Only we have such a dense layout of the aircraft,” Andrei Kalmykov objected.

“We proceeded from the fact that some things cannot be weighed, but they may be needed during the flight, before or after, a bouquet - for romantics, outerwear - to run to the ramp in cold weather<...>", explained the representative of the Ministry of Transport and emphasized that the decision on the list of compulsory subjects is a collegial one.

But Pobeda didn’t think so. Representatives of Pobeda suggested refusing the bouquet, citing possible allergies of the passengers. “Passengers must warn in advance about health problems,” a representative of the Ministry of Transport objected.

One of the most important criteria of a legislative act is certainty. It had to be formulated so that it could be interpreted unambiguously. Clause 135 of the FPA can be interpreted in any way you like.<...>If we talk about the balance between passenger convenience and traffic safety, the priority is safety, and it is not met under these standards. This rule is harmful to both the carrier and citizens.

Heinrich Padva, lawyer

Also in Pobeda they complained that the sizes of a handbag or briefcase are not regulated anywhere; in a briefcase, the size of which is not inferior to a luggage bag, you can carry a lot of clothes, and there is no way to control this, and the clause regarding the free transportation of outerwear leads to abuses, for example on Italian flights. “Passengers carry three fur coats, citing the fact that these are outerwear,” Kalmykov was indignant. The question of outerwear caused a heated discussion: the airline representative had to separately explain: no one will take into account the clothes that the passenger is wearing: no one weighs them anyway. “If it’s a passenger’s clothing, no one is against it, but today’s standards allow you to carry additional things. We are in favor of establishing clear and understandable rules. And for socially significant things, we have a separate shelf, and if space runs out, we will transport everything to you for free. cargo compartment, the passenger must warn about this 24 hours in advance,” Andrei Kalmykov convinced the court.

The Ministry of Transport stated that they encountered the problem of additional outerwear for the first time and are “ready for dialogue.”

To nullify abuses on all sides is an impossible task; all issues that arise in practice must be resolved by the participants in the situation,” noted a representative of the Ministry of Transport.

Why not indicate to the FAP that it must be based on the carrier’s standards? The carrier needs at least minimal tools to control hand luggage, Pobeda objected.

The representative of the Ministry of Justice supported the position of the Ministry of Transport, while recognizing that the requirements of the FAP should be developed in accordance with Art. 106 VK.

Nevertheless, after listening to the arguments of the parties, he refused to satisfy Pobeda’s demands. Heinrich Padva said that Pobeda will likely challenge the decision made by the Supreme Court. The general director of the airline, Andrei Kalmykov, said that if the decision does come into legal force, the airline will have to look for a way out, for example, placing hand luggage “in excess of the norm” in luggage, since it is not physically possible to place it on the shelves - it is unsafe. As a result, this may also affect the cost of air tickets.

The appeal obliged Pobeda to change the rules for carrying hand luggage. The Court of Appeal concluded that the airline does not have the right to charge passengers additional money for baggage carried in the cabin weighing less than 10 kg. However, Pobeda will continue to challenge this decision, since it believes that the ticket price includes only a limited set of things that can be carried without additional payment.

The Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the previous instance, according to which the low-cost carrier Pobeda (part of the Aeroflot group) is obliged to change the list of items from hand luggage that a passenger has the right to carry without additional payment.

The reason for the legal proceedings, which started at the beginning of the year, was an inspection by Rostransnadzor based on an appeal from State Duma deputy Alena Arshinova. The deputy reported that the airline representative ordered her to pay an additional 2 thousand rubles. for carrying a “handbag in the form of a backpack” weighing up to 9 kg in the aircraft cabin. But the defendant stated that the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) require free transportation of only a limited set of things, including handbags and briefcases, and “nothing is said about backpacks in the FAR.” In addition, the legislation does not clearly indicate restrictions on weight and size, the company insists. Therefore, based on the rules of Pobeda, the price of a low-cost airline ticket now only includes the possibility of transporting up to 10 kg of luggage, provided that it is checked in as luggage and not carried on board the plane. Otherwise, for each piece of luggage in the cabin you need to pay from 999 rubles. up to 2 thousand rubles (€25–35 for international flights).

Judge Ekaterina Aksenova, who considered the case in the court of first instance, commenting on the applicant’s words, called the difference between a handbag and a small backpack “a game of wording.” She also clarified that when entering the plane, Ms. Arshinova only had a “backpack” in her hands. The court indicated in the decision that “having established the type of baggage included in the carriage as a “handbag,” Pobeda reserved the right to decide what type of handbag fits or does not fit this definition, which is unacceptable and contradicts the FAP.”

The press service of Pobeda told Kommersant that they will continue to challenge this decision.

Note that the rules of one of the largest European low-cost airlines - the British airline EasyJet - do not limit the weight of hand luggage if it meets certain dimensions and the passenger is able to place it on the luggage rack without assistance. The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair includes in the ticket price two pieces of hand luggage of certain dimensions, the weight of one of which should not exceed 10 kg.

Elizaveta Kuznetsova

How Pobeda announced the introduction of fees for the carriage of duty-free goods

Low-cost airline Pobeda (part of the Aeroflot group) announced in November 2015 the introduction of a fee for the transportation of packages Duty Free on international flights. The cost of the service averaged 700 rubles. Meanwhile, the conditions of transportation of the Pobeda raised questions from Rospotrebnadzor.

Why “Victory” is not expected in Europe

Aeroflot's low-cost subsidiary Pobeda encountered difficulties in entering foreign routes in July. The German Lufthansa blocked Pobeda's idea to sell cheap all-inclusive Fly&Bus tickets with delivery of passengers to Zurich, and in the Austrian Innsbruck the low-cost airline did not obtain slots from Austrian Airlines. The fears of competitors are justified: after the start of Pobeda flights to Bergamo, Alitalia stopped flights from there to Moscow. However, in Russia Pobeda faces similar difficulties: the development of domestic routes carries the risk of competition with other airlines of the Aeroflot group.

MOSCOW, November 20 – RIA Novosti. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Pobeda Airlines regarding the carriage of hand luggage, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The representative of the Ministry of Transport, in turn, noted that according to the standards discussed in Pobeda, it will be impossible to transport an ordinary bag or jacket.

“Given that Pobeda has baggage-free fares, which means an additional payment, it seems to us that the rights of passengers will be violated in this way,” explained a representative of the Ministry of Transport.

The airline's general director objected to the department's arguments. He recalled that Pobeda is a low-cost airline with increased passenger capacity, which was achieved, among other things, by installing thinner seats and a dense layout.

“Passengers whose belongings do not fit into the luggage compartment of the plane send their belongings under the seats, which is contrary to safety standards, especially during evacuation,” Kalmykov said.

He called the main problem the lack of balance between the passenger’s right to carry hand luggage and ensuring the safe transportation of baggage. The general director asked the court to invalidate the law regarding the airline’s obligation to accept oversized bags in excess of the carry-on baggage allowance.

Carrier's reaction

After the court's decision was announced, Kalmykov told reporters that he was surprised and did not agree with it.

“We cannot comply with the current rule, which we are challenging, and ensure flight safety. In court, we clearly demonstrated that the list of things established by the rules cannot be transported in the cabin of an aircraft,” he said.

According to Kalmykov, the company will file a supervisory complaint against the decision. In case of refusal, the airline will be forced to set symbolic dimensions for hand luggage, he added.

“We will most likely set ridiculous dimensions for hand luggage, for example 10 by 10 by 10 centimeters; we will carry everything else in addition to hand luggage, as the Ministry of Transport asks,” concluded the head of the company.

The essence of the conflict

New rules for carrying hand luggage came into force in November last year. Thus, the free carry-on baggage allowance cannot be less than five kilograms. In addition, the passenger has the right to take with him a number of things, including a handbag, a backpack, a men's briefcase, a backpack, a bouquet of flowers, a cradle, crutches, rollators, and outerwear.

Pobeda decided to challenge the rules because, according to the carrier, they do not take into account the capacity of the aircraft's luggage compartments. As Kalmykov noted, due to the fact that Pobeda flights are almost always 100 percent loaded, passengers can only take on board the calculated baggage allowance (36*30*27 cm). It is impossible to place anything more in the cabin beyond these dimensions, Kalmykov said. At the same time, the airline did not demand the removal of wheelchairs, rollators, walkers, crutches, and cribs from the list.

News, 17:21 08/07/2018

© Alexander Demyanchuk/TASS

Pobeda lost: passengers will continue to take fur coats and bouquets on the plane

Context

MOSCOW, August 7 – RAPSI. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation rejected the claim of Pobeda Airlines, recognizing as legal the carriers' obligation to carry a number of hand luggage items in excess of the norm in the aircraft cabin, a RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom.

In October 2017, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation approved changes to the rules for the carriage of hand luggage on airplanes: airlines were able to establish free rate baggage allowance (at least 5 kg - approx. ed.), but they were required to allow passengers to take on board a handbag or briefcase, a bouquet of flowers, outerwear, baby food, suits in a suitcase, child seats, medicines, crutches and canes, as well as duty free goods without being weighed.

Representatives of the airline asked the court to partially invalidate paragraph 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations." General rules air transportation of passengers, baggage, cargo and requirements for servicing passengers, shippers, consignees." In the claims, Pobeda asked the court not to limit the carrying of "social" luggage: medicines, cradles, crutches and walking canes.

The low-cost airline wants to use different rules: the airline allows you to take on board only luggage that fits in a special calibrator measuring 36x30x27 cm, and it offers to check in all other things as checked baggage for an additional fee. The carrier pays attention only to the size of the items, and not to the weight. Pobeda's lawyers ask the court to partially cancel this clause of the rules, and the administrative defendants - the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Justice - to develop a different procedure for carrying hand luggage, to define and structure "dimensionless" personal belongings.

Safety first

The general director of the low-cost airline, Andrey Kalmykov, took part in the court hearing. According to him, Pobeda turned to aircraft manufacturer Boeing for advice on establishing the size of safely carried hand luggage. The aircraft manufacturer calculated the size of the calibrator based on the ability to carry 189 passengers, since the carrier operates only one type of aircraft: the Boeing 737-800.

The airline’s position was expressed by lawyer Heinrich Padva: “These points don’t seem to sound very serious. The point is that they do not ensure the safety of passengers’ flights. The law repeatedly establishes the wording “within normal limits.” And in paragraph 135 we have a whole list "of items without limiting their allowance. Passengers who enter the cabin first completely fill all luggage compartments. For our safety, the airline wants to limit the size of hand luggage so that things do not fly around the cabin during turbulence."

Representatives of the airline have repeatedly noted that the goal of the low-cost airline is not to profit from passengers, but to ensure safety in the aircraft cabin. “All luggage space on the plane is given to customers free of charge, we are not trying to make money, but want to restore order,” Kalmykov added. Lawyers for the airline believe that a number of items of hand luggage are not clearly defined and the court may recognize even a briefcase with straps as a woman's bag.

Flowers and fur coats

Representatives of the plaintiffs, in support of their claims, brought a calibrator - a metal box - into the courtroom of blue color with a high “back” and demonstrated to the court the “absurd” amount of things that a passenger can take on board without a weight limit. The head of the airline placed several business bags, suitcases with suits and bouquets of flowers next to the meter to demonstrate to the court the possible abuse of the rules by passengers.

The plaintiffs also expressed their negative attitude towards the ability of passengers to take bouquets of flowers on board due to the air circulation device and the unsafe flight of passengers with allergies, and also noted the cunning of passengers flying for shopping.

“Our company flies to the suburbs of Milan, and people take three fur coats with them into the cabin and at check-in they say that this is hand luggage. We have to transport it in the cabin,” said the head of the airline. The administrative defendant argued that it was impossible to limit the possibility of carrying outerwear in the cabin, since Pobeda does not use the passage through the “sleeve” from the airport buildings, and people are often outside in sub-zero temperatures.

Defendant's position

During the court hearing, representatives of the Ministry of Transport stated that the rules being appealed would be changed to establish legal certainty, but they asked the court to refuse to satisfy the airline’s demands. According to the department, the airline wants to increase fees from passengers, and does not care about the safety of transportation. The agency is developing a draft amendment to the contested rules, according to which the provisions of paragraph 135 will be moved to another paragraph of the document and subsequently edited.