Have you ever bought a roundtrip flight and when you went to check in for the return flight, did you find that your reservation had been canceled? This practice is known as “no show”, and a large number of airlines include it in their contracts (effectively, in the fine print of those general conditions that you accept and do not read when purchasing the ticket). For this reason, more and more people are wondering what the no show clause is and how it can be claimed. In this article we explain it to you.
Is the no show clause legal? Can you apply it to me?
The no show clause is one that allows that when a plane ticket consisting of several routes (generally round trip) is purchased, if one of them is not made, the others can be canceled without consequence. This practice has been considered as abusive -that is, void and illegal- by several judicial instances , such as the Provincial Courts of Palma (2010) or Madrid (2013) since they create a situation of imbalance between the parties that leaves the party unprotected. weakest part of the contract – the consumer – and seriously harms it. Legally, therefore, it is considered that there are several reasons why this clause should not be applied by the airlines:
- The no show clause is not recognized in the international regulations that regulate the matter as a cause for cancellation.
- It does not comply with article 95 of the Air Navigation Law , which establishes that whoever acquires an airplane ticket has the right not to travel and obtain the corresponding refund if the flight is canceled within the established period.
- The no show clause does not comply with the legal limitations required in the Law for the Defense of the Rights of Consumers and Users that prohibit clauses that impose financially disproportionate obstacles for the consumer in contracts with consumers.
- It is not clearly and expressly indicated when purchasing airline tickets online, so many travelers are unaware of its existence. The “fine print” and the long paragraphs after which we press “accept” or “reject” cannot be considered as express authorization.
- The airline obtains a triple profit : the return ticket canceled; the alternative ticket to return; and, the ticket paid by a new customer occupying the canceled seat.
- The no show clause violates the passenger’s right to freely use their ticket once they have fulfilled their only obligation: to pay for it.
In addition, recently the Supreme Court in its Judgment of November 21, 2018 has confirmed the nullity (and illegality) of Iberia’s no show clause, by establishing in the ruling that “ the clause in question supposes an imbalance of rights and Obligations contrary to good faith, since a consumer who has fulfilled his obligation, which is only the payment of the price, is deprived in any case of the enjoyment of the contracted service, which for reasons that may be of a very different nature has decided or has been compelled to enjoy only in part “.
How to claim the no show clause
All the legal reasoning in the previous section has an important practical consequence: if it is applied to you in any of your trips, you will be able to claim the no show clause with the certainty that justice will agree with you and the airline will have to compensate you .
The items that you can request when claiming the no show clause are the expenses generated by the cancellation, the return of the part of the ticket that is canceled and the new one that you have to purchase in order to make the return; and finally, a compensation that will range between € 250 and € 600 depending on the route.
Requirements to claim the no show clause
You will not be able to claim the no show clause if you cannot prove that the cancellation of your return flight is due to the fact that you did not make the outward flight that you had previously also contracted with the company. For this reason, it is necessary that you do not lose the reservation or the proof of purchase of both flights, as well as that you keep the boarding passes; that if you have made the outward journey by other means, keep the documents that justify it; and, finally, that if the company communicates to you by email or any other means the cancellation of the return flight, keep it in a safe place to be able to provide it as proof.
