The Swedish Competition Authority accepts voluntary commitment from Finnair

The Swedish Competition Authority has been investigating whether the airline Finnair has limited competition in the Swedish market for the sale of airline tickets since October 2019. The investigation shows that Finnair's requirements on how online travel agencies should market their prices can create competition problems in the market.

"Finnair's commitment to change its conduct means that there will be greater room for price competition in the future. This benefits both online travel agencies and consumers," says Rikard Jermsten, Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

According to a complaint received by the Swedish Competition Authority in 2020, Finnair prevented online travel agencies from freely promoting offers and discounts on the company's airline tickets to customers searching for travel on the internet, usually through price comparison sites. Online travel agencies that did not comply with Finnair's requirements had their rights to sell the company's tickets revoked.

The Swedish Competition Authority has assessed that online travel agencies are not agents in the sense of competition law, which means they are independent economic market players who have the right to determine their own pricing.

Finnair has now voluntarily committed to changing its conduct and no longer restrict how online travel agencies market discounts on the airline's prices. The alleged restriction of competition investigated by the Swedish Competition Authority, namely Finnair limiting online travel agencies' ability to market and set their own selling prices, will therefore cease.

Finnair's commitment will be valid for five years. The decision is subject to penalty.