Accustomed to a light-hearted and very second-degree style of communication, which often has a small effect on social networks, Transavia has this time opted for bad buzz... The fault lies with a surcharge applied after booking, which is - at the very least - incomprehensible to its French customers.
The low-cost airline, a subsidiary ofAir Francesummarises: " Transavia France has chosen to collect all of this tax for travel on or after 3 March 2025. As a result, customers in possession of a ticket purchased before 28 October 2024 and after 7 December 2024, for travel from 3 March 2025, will shortly receive an e-mail to regularise payment".
And to make it clear to customers who refuse to pay what they are up against, Transavia does not beat about the bush. "In the event of non-payment, customers will not be able to check in online and obtain their boarding pass. They will have to go to the check-in desk to pay the additional fee before being issued with a boarding pass. In the absence of payment, the airline reserves the right to refuse travel.
The legality of the procedure - and a fortiori its legitimacy - is open to question. Transavia has therefore referred the passengers concerned to its general conditions of carriage. These stipulate that "The carrier shall be entitled to invoice the passenger separately for all unforeseen charges, taxes and surcharges levied by the government, national or other authorities, by the airport or by the carrier (after receipt of the booking confirmation)".
As a reminder, the new airline ticket solidarity tax (TSBA) scale for 2025 sets the tax at €7.40, per flight and per passenger, compared with €2.63 previously, for flights in France and within Europe in economy class. For international flights - still in economy class - the tax will rise from €7.51 to €15.
