The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) proposes that the Market Court imposes a penalty payment of approximately EUR 7.6 million on Finnair Plc for a procedural infringement of competition law. The company provided materially incorrect, incomplete, and misleading information in response to three requests for information made by the authority under Finnish Competition Act.
The Swedish and Finnish competition authorities have investigated Finnair’s suspected anti-competitive practices, which relates to the company allegedly impeding online travel agents’ ability to advertise discounts to customers searching for Finnair tickets on the internet. In 2023, Finnair offered and the Swedish Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) accepted commitments, which prohibit Finnair from restricting how online travel agencies advertise the prices of the company’s airline tickets for travel originating or ending in Sweden.
In the fall of 2023, the FCCA initiated an investigation into Finnair’s practices regarding ticket sales for flights departing from and arriving in Finland. The investigation was launched with requests for information.
Under competition law, companies are obliged to provide the authority, at its request, with all the information and documents needed to investigate the contents, purpose and impact of a restriction of competition. In the fall of 2023, Finnair provided incorrect, incomplete, and misleading information in four responses to the FCCA’s requests for information.
In the spring of 2024, the FCCA conducted unannounced inspection at Finnair’s premises under competition law. The aim of the inspection was to obtain an accurate perception of the suspected anti-competitive practices that are the subject of the FCCA’s investigation. The authority’s evidence of Finnair’s procedural infringement is primarily based on the material collected during the inspection. According to the authority’s assessment, the infringement committed by Finnair is extensive and serious.
”Finnair's actions have hampered and delayed the investigation. Requests for information are the FCCA's primary and most commonly used tools in antitrust investigations. To secure effective investigations and use of resources, it is important that companies act diligently and provide the authority with as correct and complete information as possible."
First penalty payment proposal for providing incorrect information
Since 2021, the FCCA has been able to propose penalty payments for infringements of procedural rules. The penalty payment for a procedural infringement may not exceed one percent of the company’s total worldwide turnover. The penalty payment proposed by the FCCA for Finnair corresponds to 0.25 percent of the company’s turnover for 2024. The Market Court will decide on the imposition of the penalty payment.
FCCA proposed a penalty payment for procedural infringement for the first time to Attendo in May 2024. The Market Court imposed a penalty payment of EUR 1.5 million on the company for obstructing an inspection. The matter is currently pending before the Supreme Administrative Court. The authority is now proposing a penalty payment for the first time for a procedural infringement related to providing incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information.
The investigation into Finnair’s suspected competition restriction is still ongoing, and the authority will not comment on the ongoing investigation.