The liability of air carriers for pricing errors in electronic oferts:

an analysis of the case Gómez v. United Airlines Inc. et al.

Abstract

The case Gómez v. United Airlines Inc. et al. stands as a significant precedent in Argentine Air Transport Law, addressing the validity of an erroneous electronic offer and its effects on the formation of the international air carriage contract. The analysis explores the tension between the special aeronautical regime -based on the carrier’s strict liability and the uniformity principle of the Montreal Convention- and the supplementary application of the Consumer Protection Act. From a strictly transport-law perspective, the commentary argues that the digitalization of contracting does not alter the legal nature of the relationship nor exempt the carrier from its technical diligence duty and from preserving the passenger’s legitimate trust, both essential elements for ensuring legal certainty and operational predictability within the international air transport system.