How to determine the place of business of a foreign air carrier for entering into a contract?

Question and answer: Article 33, paragraph 1 of the Montreal Convention provides that: “An action for damages must be filed in the territory of one of the parties, at the option of the plaintiff, in the court of the carrier’s domicile, principal place of business or place of business where the contract is concluded, or in the court of the destination.” Among them, how to determine the “place of business where the carrier enters into a contract” should be handled according to the following ideas:

First, the representative office established in accordance with the “Approval and Management Measures for Permanent Representative Offices of Foreign Air Transport Enterprises” can be determined as the place of business of the air transport enterprise. If the ticket is purchased (cargo consignment is handled) through the representative office, the location of the representative office can be determined as the place of business of the carrier for entering into a contract.

Second, in the case of purchasing tickets through a sales agency, whether the place of business of the sales agency can be determined as the place of business of the carrier for entering into a contract needs to be analyzed based on individual cases. If one of the following conditions is met, the location of the sales agent can be considered as the place of business of the carrier for signing the contract: First, the sales agent has signed a permanent or long-term agreement with the carrier and has a continuous and stable agency relationship. Second, the agency relationship between the sales agent and the airline is recognized by the industry and third parties. Third, other circumstances that can prove that the sales agent is part of the airline’s sales organization.