The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the "victory" on hand luggage. Pobeda lost: passengers will continue to take fur coats and bouquets on the plane
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 transportation minimum 5 kg of luggage introduced its own rules: they are not tied to the weight of the 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.
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 a free 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.
The Supreme Court of Russia, which considered the claim of Pobeda Airlines regarding changes in the rules for the carriage of hand luggage, sided with consumers, not the carrier. As a result, passengers retained the right to bring bags, backpacks, and briefcases into the aircraft cabin in excess of the established carry-on baggage allowance of 5 kg. “Victory”, however, does not give up and promises to appeal the decision made by the Supreme Court.
The case began with an order from the Ministry of Transport, which came into force in November 2017: the department considered that when checking in for a flight there is no need to weigh handbags or briefcases, taking them outside the scope of the term “carry-on luggage.” Pobeda did not agree with this opinion. Representatives of the company pointed out, in particular, that the presence of bags and backpacks could affect safety, and also that the Ministry of Transport, when making its decision, did not take into account the passenger capacity of the aircraft.
Airline CEO Andrey Kalmykov, justifying Pobeda’s objections in court, said that the carrier ordered an expert study from Boeing company, and received the following conclusion: in order to safely transport 189 passengers (this is the maximum load of the aircraft that Pobeda uses), each passenger can take with him one piece of hand luggage measuring 36x30x27 cm in three dimensions. Moreover, this hand luggage should only be on the top shelf. It is impossible to remove it under the seat in front.
“The design of our specific aircraft is as follows, - Mr. Kalmykov explained, - that the layout of the aircraft is made taking into account maximum density. We use so-called thin seats to carry as many passengers as possible. The space for the distance is 29 inches. It’s very small, so there’s no space for hand luggage downstairs.”.
On this moment, let us remind you that the following rules apply for transporting things in the aircraft cabin.
A passenger, regardless of the type of ticket with which he is traveling (refundable, non-refundable, with luggage, without luggage), has the right to take hand luggage weighing up to 5 kilograms into the aircraft cabin. Some airlines allow more weight.
In addition to this established norm, a passenger can carry with him a handbag, a men's briefcase or backpack (the weight and dimensions of the backpack are determined by the carrier), a briefcase, outerwear, baby food and a stroller, a bouquet of flowers, as well as medicines.
Phones, books, cameras, laptops can only be brought into the cabin if they are hidden in hand luggage.
In addition, the passenger can bring duty-free purchases into the cabin for free - but in accordance with the dimensions and weight restrictions that each airline sets independently.
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.
Punishing passengers for wanting to save on ticket prices. As it turns out, these carrier quirks came into insoluble conflict with the Federal Aviation Regulations dated 10.10.2007 , and Rostransnadzor back in February ordered Aeroflot’s subsidiary to eliminate violations. The airline appealed to the Moscow Arbitration Court, where the case was considered on the merits yesterday.
Believe it or not, but this trial, like all previous ones, “Victory” lost outright. Arbitration judge Ekaterina Aksyonova upheld all points of the supervisory authority's order. This means that Pobeda is obligated to start feeding passengers on board its flights and stop requiring them to pay extra for backpacks and handbags as separate pieces of luggage.
Unfortunately, the issue of rudeness of airline service personnel to passengers was not considered (although Rostransnadzor receives complaints about this too).
Does yesterday's court decision mean that Pobeda will change its boorish ways in the future? Previous experience does not give us the slightest reason for such an optimistic forecast. As I already wrote, the policy of Aeroflot’s subsidiary in this matter is principled and completely conscious. And although Pobeda does not spare money on lawyers, challenging every order of supervisory authorities in arbitration courts of three instances, it is in no hurry to enforce court decisions on its own claims. The first protocol on administrative violation in connection with the illegal collection of fees from passengers for hand luggage was drawn up in relation to Pobeda on May 7 2015 of the year. Resolution on the guilt of “Victory” in committing an offense, liability for which is provided for in Part 1 of Art. 14.8 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, issued on June 2 2015 (with reference to the same paragraph. 135 Federal Aviation Rules regarding free carry-on baggage allowances). Arbitration Court of Moscow, where Pobeda appealed this decision, November 2 2015 year, the airline’s claim was denied, confirming the decision that it was guilty. Having failed to achieve success in the first instance, the airline immediately filed an appeal, lost again, sent a cassation appeal to the Moscow District Arbitration Court - and lost the case for the third time, having exhausted all possibilities of legal challenge. 5 months have passed since then, but Pobeda still hasn’t bothered to bring its baggage transportation standards into line with current federal legislation.
The logic here is exactly the same as that Ilya Varlamov clearly explained in his post: during execution air transportation The passenger has no rights. Neither those that are prescribed in federal laws, nor those that he supposedly received by purchasing a ticket. He may be required to pay additional fees at any time, he may not be allowed on the plane or removed from the flight if he refuses to pay the illegal fee (as happened with Public Chamber member Dmitry Chugunov, based on whose complaint Rostransnadzor issued its February order).
There are exactly two cures for this disease: legal and market. For example, in the USA, a passenger can file a lawsuit against the airline, recovering from it not only moral damages, but also punitive damages for the unlawful actions of the crew. For example, US citizen Samantha Carrington, who was removed from the flight by flight attendants and handed over to the FBI on false suspicion of “terrorism”, 2006 sued Southwest Airlines 2,5 million dollars in moral damages and 25 million fine, the whole purpose of which is to wean the airline from abusing the lack of rights of passengers on board. I know nothing about similar verdicts in Russia.
The market cure lies in banal competition between air carriers. If Google passenger reviews of Pobeda Airlines, then with the very first link, without going to any site, we will see its eloquent consumer rating: 2,25 on a five-point scale, based on reviews 10.240 passengers (purely for comparison: Aeroflot has - 4,3 score based on 31.743 responses). Positive reviews information about “Victory” comes mainly from such Platon Karataevs, who the day before had read horror stories about this carrier, transferred things from a backpack to a briefcase, and paid for everything in advance Additional services, and in the end their flight went well, which left them pleasantly surprised. It is clear that with such a reputation with the carrier, any passenger who has the opportunity to choose will refuse Pobeda’s disservices. But this, as I already explained, is part of the parent company’s intention. Passengers of low-cost airlines are deliberately taught that cheap service cannot be of high quality. And neither Rostransnadzor nor the Moscow Arbitration Court can do anything about it.