In 2016, Fiavet and one of its associated travel agencies, agreed to sue Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft, considering illegitimate the variation from 1% to 0.1% of the sales commission for the airline ticketing business and inferring that this change was contrary to the contractual agreements concluded with IATA and, in particular, with the agreements called Passenger Sales Agency Agreement (PSAA), containing the general conditions aimed at regulating relations between agencies and carriers at an international level.
The illegality of this reduction was confirmed by the Court of Milan, with judgment no. 2465/2020, which sanctioned the irregularity of the unilateral variation of the commission for the sale of air tickets from 1% to 0.1% as of January 1st 2016, declaring Deutsche Lufthansa obliged to apply to the associated travel agency, even after January 1st 2016, the percentage of sales commission of 1%. The Court of Appeal, in its judgment no. 2593 of August 2nd, 2021, upheld the decision of first instance by granting the cross-appeal and, in partial reform of the judgment of the Court, ordered the carrier to pay in favor of the travel agency the difference between the amount paid from January 1st 2016 and the higher commission due to 1%, plus interest and revaluation.
By judgment 1750/2024, the Supreme Court declared inadmissible the action brought by Deutsche Lufthansa, ordering the applicant to pay the costs of the judgment of legality in favor of Fiavet and its associated travel agency; considering, therefore, also on the basis of the principles of good faith and correctness, substantially correct the assessment made by the trial court, in the light of the incidence of the reduction from 1% to 0,1% of the commission granted to the agency compared to the fixed costs documented and attributable to the exercise of the sales activity of the carrier’s ticket office, and noting, therefore, the substantial zeroing of the provisional remuneration resulting in absolute uneconomic contractual relationship.