General Terms and Conditions of Business and Carriage

This is an English translation provided for information purposes only. The contract language is German, and only the German version of these terms and conditions is legally binding.

§ 1 Scope

(1) These General Terms and Conditions of Business and Carriage of Franconia Air Service GmbH (“Franconia”), in the version valid at the time the contract is concluded, form part of every contract with Franconia for all services provided by Franconia.

(2) Franconia does not recognize deviating or conflicting terms and conditions of the contracting party unless Franconia has expressly agreed to their validity in writing.

§ 2 Definitions

“Customer” means the person(s) who concluded the contract with Franconia and is/are therefore Franconia’s contracting party. “Passenger(s)” means the person(s) who, under the contract between Franconia and the customer, is/are to be carried by aircraft or who is/are on board an aircraft operated by or on behalf of Franconia.

§ 3 Customer’s obligation to inform passengers

The customer is responsible for passing on these General Terms and Conditions of Business and Carriage and any other notices or information from Franconia to every passenger designated by the customer, promptly and in full, and for obliging every passenger to comply with the requirements for passengers. If the customer fails to fulfill these obligations, the customer shall compensate Franconia for all resulting damage.

§ 4 Conclusion of the charter contract

(1) The customer may submit a flight booking request by letter, email, via the online booking portal, by telephone or orally in person.

(2) Offers prepared by Franconia at the customer’s request are subject to change, non-binding and subject to the availability of the aircraft.

(3) A charter contract sent by Franconia at the customer’s request does not yet constitute a binding offer.

(4) For individually agreed charter flights, the contract between the customer and Franconia for the flight services or other services to be provided by Franconia (the “charter contract”) is only concluded once the customer has signed the charter contract sent by Franconia by email and returned it to Franconia by email, and Franconia has subsequently also signed the charter contract and sent it to the customer by email. § 5 applies to bookings made via the online booking portal.

(5) If the customer requests changes after the charter contract has been concluded, their acceptance or rejection is at Franconia’s sole discretion; Franconia is not obliged to amend the contract.

(6) The charter price relates exclusively to the flight route specified in the charter contract or the booking confirmation. Changes to the routing or to the order of destinations may lead to a subsequent increase in the charter price.

§ 5 Conclusion of contract for online bookings

(1) Via the online booking portal booking.franconia-air-service.de, the customer can book private charter flights and scheduled flights.

(2) The presentation of flights, aircraft and prices in the booking portal does not constitute a binding offer but an invitation to the customer to submit an offer.

(3) Before submitting the booking, the customer can review and correct their entries. By clicking the button to place a booking with an obligation to pay, the customer submits a binding offer to conclude a contract of carriage.

(4) The contract is concluded when Franconia confirms the booking by email (booking confirmation with ticket or boarding pass). An automatically sent acknowledgment of receipt does not yet constitute acceptance.

(5) The contract language is German. Franconia stores the contract text and sends the customer the contract data, including these terms and conditions, with the booking confirmation.

(6) There is no right of withdrawal, as these are passenger transport services for which a specific date or period is provided (Section 312g(2) No. 9 of the German Civil Code, BGB).

§ 6 AI booking assistant

(1) Franconia provides an AI-powered booking assistant in the online booking portal. The assistant answers requests automatically; the chat indicates that the customer is communicating with an AI system.

(2) Information provided by the assistant on flight times, aircraft, prices and availability is non-binding and does not constitute a binding offer. A contract is only concluded in accordance with § 5, after price and availability have been confirmed in the booking process.

(3) Only the information in the booking confirmation is authoritative. If statements made by the assistant differ from it, the booking confirmation prevails.

(4) Franconia is liable for incorrect information provided by the assistant in accordance with § 23. Liability for intent and gross negligence and for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health remains unaffected.

(5) How Franconia processes chat input, which service provider is used for this and how long chat histories are stored is described in the privacy policy, section “AI booking assistant”.

§ 7 No genuine contract for the benefit of third parties

If a passenger is not also Franconia’s contracting party, the passenger has no right to carriage and no other claims to performance against Franconia; the charter contract is not a genuine contract for the benefit of third parties.

§ 8 Charter price and payment

(1) The agreed charter price includes carriage from the agreed place of departure to the destination, including the costs of the crew, crew accommodation, landing fees, en-route navigation charges, airport and passenger charges, standard catering and beverages, handling by aviation handling agents and aviation security fees, as well as the costs of a positioning flight where this is necessary to provide the aircraft at the passengers’ place of departure.

(2) The charter price does not include the following costs (“additional costs”): fees for ground transportation between airports and between airports and city terminals or hotels, costs and fees for catering above the standard, VIP handling and VIP lounges, required extensions of airport opening hours, costs of de-icing the aircraft on the ground, procurement of additional traffic rights and special services, costs of visa and customs stamps, customs duties, taxes and charges as well as other levies imposed on passengers or on the services they use by law, by an authority or by another body such as an airport, including country-specific passenger taxes and levies. The customer shall pay additional costs on top of the charter price; Franconia invoices them separately.

(3) Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the charter price is due immediately upon conclusion of the contract without deduction. Payment before the start of performance is an essential condition for the fulfillment of the contract.

(4) If the customer’s payment has not been received by Franconia by the date specified in a payment request, or if Franconia becomes aware that the customer is in considerable financial difficulty, Franconia is entitled to withdraw from the contract. If Franconia withdraws, any obligation of Franconia to perform ceases. The customer is entitled to prove that Franconia has suffered no damage or significantly less damage.

(5) Payments shall be made in euros. For individually agreed charter flights, the customer pays by bank transfer. For bookings via the online booking portal, the customer pays by credit card or SEPA direct debit. Credit card payments are processed by a payment service provider commissioned by Franconia; Franconia collects SEPA direct debits itself. The customer receives the invoice by email.

(6) When paying by SEPA direct debit, the customer grants Franconia a SEPA direct debit mandate. Franconia announces the collection no later than one day before the due date (pre-notification). The customer shall ensure that the account has sufficient funds on the due date. The customer bears any costs arising from a returned direct debit for which the customer is responsible.

§ 9 Customer’s right of termination and cancellation terms

(1) The customer may terminate the charter contract at any time.

(2) Termination must be made in text form (e.g. letter, email or text message); during the flight, if the customer is on board, it may also be declared orally to the captain.

(3) If the customer terminates the contract, the customer shall pay the following flat-rate compensation, calculated in each case up to the day of the first flight to be performed under the contract:

• if the notice of termination is received no later than 10 days before the flight: 20% of the charter price;
• if the notice of termination is received from the 9th day until no later than 24 hours before the flight: 50% of the charter price;
• if the notice of termination is received less than 24 hours before the flight or during the positioning flight to the place of departure: 100% of the charter price;

in each case plus any additional costs already incurred under § 8(2). The customer remains entitled to prove that the damage was lower.

(4) If termination is declared during the flight, Franconia shall, at the customer’s choice,

• continue the flight to the nearest airfield where landing is possible and permitted, or
• return to the airfield of departure or, if this is not possible or not permitted, fly to the nearest airfield to it.

In this case, the customer shall pay the full charter price and bear the additional costs arising from the flight option chosen (e.g. higher fuel costs, landing fees).

§ 10 Scheduled flights

(1) In addition to charter flights, Franconia offers carriage according to a published flight schedule at fixed times and to fixed destinations (scheduled flights).

(2) Franconia provides carriage only to the passenger named on the ticket and only with a confirmed booking. Franconia reserves the right to refuse carriage if the passenger cannot prove their identity.

(3) Tickets are not transferable.

(4) Payment is made during the booking process by credit card or SEPA direct debit; § 8(5) and (6) apply accordingly.

(5) If the passenger cancels, the following cancellation fees apply:

• up to 10 days before departure: 20% of the ticket price;
• from the 9th day until 24 hours before departure: 50% of the ticket price;
• less than 24 hours before departure or in the event of a no-show: 100% of the ticket price.

The passenger remains entitled to prove that the damage was lower.

(6) Carriage relates exclusively to the route and time specified on the ticket.

(7) If the passenger wishes to change the place of departure or destination, Franconia recalculates the fare for the changed route and offers a charter flight for it. If the passenger accepts the offer, Franconia performs the carriage in accordance with the rules for charter flights. If the passenger declines and withdraws, the cancellation fees under paragraph 5 apply.

(8) The passenger must be at the departure point no later than 30 minutes before departure, unless a different time was specified at the time of booking. If the passenger does not arrive in time for boarding, Franconia is entitled to cancel the booking.

(9) As a matter of principle, Franconia does not cancel flights because of low bookings; flights are operated even with just one passenger.

(10) If Franconia cancels a flight, the fare will be refunded. Refunds are generally made to the means of payment used for the booking and are deemed to be a refund to the person entitled to it.

(11) If a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, or if the passenger is denied boarding despite a confirmed booking, the passenger has the rights under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004.

(12) The Regulation applies to passengers with a confirmed booking for the flight concerned, provided they present themselves at the departure point at the time indicated or, if no time was indicated, no later than 30 minutes before the published departure time.

(13) Passengers are entitled to compensation under Article 7 of the Regulation if their flight was cancelled or if they reach their final destination with a delay of more than three hours.

(14) There is no entitlement to compensation if the cancellation or delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, e.g. bad weather conditions, strikes by third parties, security risks or unexpected flight safety shortcomings.

(15) Furthermore, in the event of a cancellation there is no entitlement to compensation if the passenger

• was informed of the cancellation at least 14 days before the scheduled departure,
• was informed between 14 and 7 days before the scheduled departure and was offered re-routing that departs no more than two hours before the scheduled departure time and reaches the final destination no more than four hours after the scheduled arrival time, or
• was informed less than 7 days before the scheduled departure and was offered re-routing that departs no more than one hour before the scheduled departure time and reaches the final destination no more than two hours after the scheduled arrival time.

(16) Each passenger may bring one piece of baggage measuring 47 × 31 × 30 cm (height × width × depth) and weighing no more than 8 kg, ideally a soft bag, plus one personal item measuring 40 × 30 × 10 cm, e.g. a handbag or laptop bag.

(17) Larger pieces of baggage are not permitted because of the limited baggage space. Deviations from the standard dimensions must be notified to Franconia at least 48 hours before departure.

(18) If baggage cannot be stowed properly in the aircraft because of the number of pieces (more than one piece of baggage and one personal item per passenger) or because it is oversized, the captain may refuse to carry the baggage.

(19) Animals cannot be carried on scheduled flights. Customers with pets can book a charter flight.

§ 11 Provision of passenger data by the customer

(1) The customer shall provide Franconia with the surnames and first names of the intended passengers and any other information that Franconia requires and requests in order to perform the contract. This information must be provided within the period set by Franconia or, if no period is specified, no later than 24 hours before departure. If the information is not provided in time, Franconia is entitled to refuse carriage to any passenger for whom the information is missing.

(2) The customer is responsible for complying with data protection law when collecting passenger data and passing it on to Franconia.

(3) The customer is liable for all damage incurred by Franconia as a result of data protection violations by the customer.

§ 12 Travel documents

(1) The customer shall ensure that each intended passenger carries the required travel documents (e.g. identity card, passport, visa, health certificate) on the flight. Passports or visas must be valid for at least three months beyond the intended travel period.

(2) The customer is liable for all damage incurred by Franconia as a result of travel documents being incorrect or incomplete, not being available or not being available in time, or the passenger refusing to present them.

§ 13 Aircraft and operation of the flight

(1) If the use of a specific aircraft type has been agreed, Franconia is entitled to use an aircraft of an equivalent type instead. Equivalence is determined exclusively by the number of passenger seats.

(2) Franconia may use third parties, in particular other air carriers, to perform its services in whole or in part. In this case, their general terms and conditions of business and carriage apply in addition.

(3) If Franconia does not operate the flight itself, each passenger will be informed of the operating air carrier as soon as Franconia knows it, at the latest at boarding.

§ 14 Dangerous items

(1) Baggage (hand baggage and checked baggage) must not contain any items whose carriage is prohibited under the regulations of any state to, over or from which the flight is operated.

(2) The following items must not be carried in baggage unless their carriage has been notified to Franconia in good time and Franconia has obtained the corresponding approval from the competent authority:

• items capable of endangering the aircraft or persons or property on board, as listed in the ICAO and IATA dangerous goods regulations applicable at the time of the flight, in particular explosives, compressed gases (e.g. camping gas, oxygen cylinders), oxidizing, corrosive, radioactive or magnetizing substances, highly flammable substances (e.g. gasoline, fuel paste, paint, alcohol over 70%), toxic or aggressive substances including household chemicals; Franconia will provide the dangerous goods regulations on request;
• explosive and incendiary substances and devices capable of causing serious injury or endangering the safety of the aircraft, including ammunition, blasting caps, detonators and fuses, fireworks and other pyrotechnic articles, mines, grenades or other military explosives, smoke canisters and smoke cartridges, dynamite, gunpowder and plastic explosives;
• firearms of all kinds such as pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns, toy guns, replicas and imitations of firearms, air and CO₂ guns, signal and starter pistols;
• stunning devices such as tasers and stun batons, as well as incapacitating chemicals, gases and sprays such as irritant gas, pepper spray and tear gas;
• pointed, sharp or blunt objects capable of causing serious injury, including knives, scissors, razor blades and tools;
• battery-powered personal transporters (e.g. hoverboards, e-scooters).

(3) Spare batteries and power banks, e-cigarettes, laptops, mobile phones, tablets and other devices with lithium batteries, as well as heat-producing devices, may only be carried in hand baggage in the passenger cabin. One small lighter or one box of matches may only be carried on the person.

(4) Each passenger must find out about prohibited items before the flight. If a passenger carries prohibited items on their person or in their baggage, in particular weapons or weapon-like objects, they must notify the captain before the start of the journey. The captain decides on the manner of carriage and is entitled to refuse carriage if there is a risk to persons or the aircraft.

(5) The customer is also obliged to ensure that passengers do not carry prohibited items or, if they do, notify the captain before the start of the journey.

(6) The customer is liable for all damage incurred by Franconia as a result of passengers violating these requirements.

§ 15 Carriage of bulky baggage and other items

(1) Bulky baggage and other items are only accepted as checked or hand baggage if significant damage to, soiling of or danger to other baggage, persons and the aircraft is ruled out. The captain is entitled to refuse carriage if such damage, soiling or danger is to be feared.

(2) The customer is liable for damage resulting from passengers’ failure to comply with these requirements.

§ 16 Carriage of animals

(1) The carriage of small pets (e.g. dogs, cats) accompanying a passenger on a charter flight is at the captain’s discretion; the captain will not refuse carriage as long as the safe operation of the flight is ensured.

(2) Larger animals (body length of 1.00 m or more, or shoulder height of 50 cm or more) are only carried by separate agreement with the customer; otherwise their carriage is excluded.

(3) The customer shall provide the necessary travel documents for accompanying animals (e.g. pet passport, proof of vaccination) and send them to Franconia no later than 72 hours before the day of the flight on which the animal travels; otherwise Franconia is entitled to refuse to carry the animal. The customer shall ensure that the accompanying passenger carries the travel documents on the flight.

(4) The customer is liable for all damage resulting from missing, incorrect or incomplete travel documents for an accompanying animal or from the passenger’s refusal to present them.

§ 17 Captain’s authority

(1) The captain is entitled at any time to take all measures necessary to maintain or restore flight safety and aviation security and to protect the life and health of passengers and crew. In particular, the captain has full authority to decide on payload, seating capacity and seat allocation, as well as on the loading, distribution and unloading of cargo and baggage, and is entitled to give passengers safety instructions. The captain decides whether and how the flight is operated, whether to deviate from the planned route and where to land. In particular, the captain is entitled to refuse carriage in accordance with § 20 or where the captain considers this necessary for safety reasons.

(2) The customer shall inform the passengers of the captain’s authority on board and oblige them to follow the captain’s instructions.

(3) The customer is liable for all damage resulting from passengers’ failure to follow the captain’s safety instructions or from other violations of the captain’s safety measures by passengers.

§ 18 Compliance with legal regulations by passengers

(1) The passenger and the customer are responsible for complying with the laws, regulations and orders applicable to transit, entry or exit of the states over, to or from which the flight is operated. Franconia bears no responsibility and has no obligation to check in this respect.

(2) The customer is liable for all damage resulting from passengers’ failure to comply with these regulations.

§ 19 Customs and security checks

(1) At the request of the customs authorities, passengers must be present when their baggage is inspected. Franconia is not responsible for inspections carried out by these authorities.

(2) Passengers must submit themselves and their baggage to security checks carried out by authorities, airport operators or other bodies. Franconia is not responsible for these checks.

(3) Where applicable, passengers must also submit themselves and their baggage to security checks carried out by Franconia.

(4) The customer is liable for all damage resulting from a passenger refusing or obstructing a customs or security check.

§ 20 Refusal of carriage

(1) Franconia may refuse to carry a passenger and/or their baggage

• if the customer does not provide the requested passenger data in time (§ 11),
• if this is necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations or mandatory official orders or to avoid violating them,
• if the passenger refuses, on request, to provide personal information, including information required by law or official order,
• if there are indications that the passenger has a contagious disease that poses a risk to the health or safety of others,
• if there are justified doubts as to whether the passenger’s state of health allows them to take part in the flight safely without special medical care, unless the passenger presents a medical certificate confirming that there are no concerns,
• if carriage would endanger safety or order on board, in particular the health of other passengers or the crew, including where the passenger’s mental or physical condition, including impairment by alcohol or drugs, poses a danger to themselves, other persons or property on board or unreasonably impairs the well-being of others,
• if the passenger refuses a customs or security check or does not answer the security questions satisfactorily,
• if there are reasonable doubts as to whether the passenger holds valid travel documents, if the passenger attempts to enter a country for which they do not hold valid entry documents, destroys documents during the flight or refuses to hand them over to the crew for inspection, or cannot prove that they are the person named on the passenger list, or
• if the passenger does not comply with the captain’s safety measures.

(2) Carriage may also be refused if Franconia informed the customer before the contract was concluded that this passenger will no longer be carried, or if the passenger’s behavior on a previous flight gave rise to a right to refuse carriage and carrying the passenger can therefore not reasonably be expected of Franconia.

(3) If carriage is refused for any of the reasons stated, Franconia’s claim to payment against the customer remains in full; there is no right to carriage.

(4) Franconia accepts no liability for a justified refusal of carriage.

§ 21 Impossibility of operating the flight

(1) If it is impossible to operate the flight due to

• the revocation, other cancellation or late issue of necessary official permits (e.g. entry permits or visas for the crew, overflight, entry or landing permits) or of mandatory confirmations from other bodies (e.g. Eurocontrol, slot allocation by airports),
• conflicting statutory provisions or official orders (e.g. overflight or entry bans) or unavoidable orders from other bodies,
• force majeure, such as severe weather, volcanic ash, an epidemic or pandemic, other natural disasters, war or war-like conditions, terrorist attacks or a particular terrorist threat, or similar situations beyond the control of both Franconia and the customer, or
• strikes or lockouts,

Franconia’s obligation to operate the flight and to provide related services ceases.

(2) To the extent that Franconia’s obligation to perform ceases due to impossibility, the customer’s obligation to pay the charter price or any other consideration also ceases.

(3) If the impossibility arises during the flight, Franconia shall, at the customer’s choice,

• continue the flight to the nearest airfield where landing is possible and permitted, or
• return to the airfield of departure or, if this is not possible or not permitted, fly to the nearest airfield to it.

In this case, the customer shall pay the pro rata charter price for the duration of the flight actually operated, the additional costs incurred under § 8(2) and the additional costs arising from the flight option chosen (e.g. higher fuel costs, landing fees).

(4) Claims for damages due to the impossibility of operating the flight are excluded unless the circumstances giving rise to the impossibility are based on a grossly negligent or intentional breach of duty by Franconia.

§ 22 Empty legs

(1) An empty leg is a positioning flight without passengers to bring the aircraft to its usual base or to a destination where passengers who have chartered the aircraft are picked up.

(2) Empty legs can be booked by the customer. Franconia offers them at a reduced price compared with regular charter flights and informs the customer in writing or in text form at the time of booking that the flight is an empty leg.

(3) Franconia may cancel an empty leg at any time at short notice before the planned flight without giving reasons if positioning the aircraft is no longer necessary. The charter price already paid will be refunded to the customer; there are no further claims.

§ 23 Franconia’s liability

(1) The carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo by Franconia is subject to the mandatory provisions of the Montreal Convention (1999) and Regulation (EC) No 2027/97, each as amended, or, where applicable instead outside the European Union, the Warsaw Convention (1929) as amended at The Hague (1955) or the Guadalajara Supplementary Convention (1961).

(2) Franconia’s liability in the event of death or bodily injury of passengers, destruction, loss of or damage to baggage or cargo, and delay is governed by the mandatory provisions referred to in paragraph 1.

(3) If fault on the part of the injured party contributed to the damage, the provisions of the applicable law on the exclusion or reduction of liability in the event of contributory negligence apply.

(4) Franconia is not liable for damage resulting from Franconia’s compliance with government regulations or from the passenger’s failure to comply with the resulting obligations.

(5) Franconia’s liability shall in no case exceed the amount of the proven damage. Franconia is only liable for indirect and consequential damage in the event of gross negligence or intent. The mandatory provisions referred to in paragraph 1 and liability for damage resulting from injury to life, body or health remain unaffected.

(6) Franconia does not waive any exclusions or limitations of liability in its favor under the provisions referred to in paragraph 1 or under other applicable law. No provision of these terms and conditions contains or is intended to effect such a waiver.

(7) Exclusions and limitations of liability also apply accordingly in favor of Franconia’s employees and agents and of any person whose aircraft Franconia uses, including their employees and agents. The total amount payable by Franconia and these persons shall in no case exceed the applicable liability limits.

(8) Franconia is not liable for items left on board the aircraft.

§ 24 Miscellaneous

(1) Subject to mandatory provisions to the contrary, German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

(2) If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes is Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany. Places of jurisdiction under mandatory provisions, in particular under the Montreal Convention (1999), remain unaffected.

(3) Should individual provisions of these terms and conditions be or become invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The invalid provision shall be replaced by the statutory provision.