Ryanair presses CAA for further action against eDreams and Opodo

Ryanair has called on the Civil Aviation Authority to take further action to prevent eDreams and Opodo from advertising fares which it claims do not exist. The budget airline welcomed action by the UK aviation regulator to force changes to the websites and advertising practices of the two Odigeo group OTAs. But the carrier claims … Continue reading Ryanair presses CAA for further action against eDreams and Opodo

Ryanair has called on the Civil Aviation Authority to take further action to prevent eDreams and Opodo from advertising fares which it claims do not exist.

The budget airline welcomed action by the UK aviation regulator to force changes to the websites and advertising practices of the two Odigeo group OTAs.

But the carrier claims eDreams continues to advertise and sell “non-existent” fares on its website.

Ryanair started legal proceedings in the Irish High Court against both Google and eDreams to stop them misleading consumers by advertising the fares via the eDreams website and Google search adverts, practices which are prohibited by Irish consumer legislation.

The airline says it has no issue with OTAs who display its fares in a transparent manner, and already has a number of licencing agreements in place with companies such as SkyScanner, TripAdvisor and Dohop.

Ryanair also has no problem with Google selling ad space, provided it is done so in an “honest and transparent” manner.

Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said: “We welcome these enforced changes to the eDreams and Opodo websites and to their misleading pricing practices following our submissions to the UK CAA.

“Customers were being misled by Google adwords, copycat subdomains and lookalike websites.

“While these changes will help prevent more customers being misled, it’s important to note that Ryanair has no commercial agreement whatsover with eDreams or Opodo, who continue to engage in unauthorised screenscraping and sell on Ryanair’s low fares at inflated prices.

“We call on the CAA to take further action to stop eDreams and Opodo from advertising non-existent fares, which are then inflated through additional charges and we again urge customers to book directly on the Ryanair.com website.”

A spokeswoman for Odiego said: “Ryanair is misleading the public with its claims about eDreams.

“Our customers have full visibility of the available fares and any charges before they book, and can receive information about flight changes, such as delays or cancellations, through our free mobile app.

“Our customers have full visibility of the available fares and any charges before they book, and can receive information about flight changes, such as delays or cancellations, through our free mobile app. We have been working closely with the CAA and we’re pleased that they recognise the work we have done to make our customer experience smoother and clearer.”

“Close to half of our customers book a combination of flights which cannot be booked on any single airline website. These customers are saving money and getting to the location of their choice at a time that is convenient for them.”

Odiego claimed that Ryanair will soon be undergoing a CAA investigation into ‘unfair charges’, and face the threat of a class action lawsuit from over 5,000 unhappy consumers on the same issue.

“They would be wise to spend their time on improving the way they treat their own customers, instead of standing in the way of consumers using sites like eDreams to get the best deal and the most convenient combination of flights,” the company said.