Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline based in Ireland, recently presented a legal brawl against Booking.com and its parent company, Booking Holdings Inc, along with several of its subsidiaries. This was conducted in a US court on Monday. The case arises from the contention by Ryanair that the online travel behemoth has been unauthorisedly selling its flights.
The Irish carrier points out a frequent pattern where these online agents pile up their “extensive surcharges” over the original ticket fares. This case represents one amongst a series of similar actions taken by Ryanair against various online travel agencies.
The case was set to be argued before a Delaware court on Monday, its outcome likely to reverberate throughout the travel industry. Adding to their violation, the carrier also alleges these websites of providing false passenger contact data to Ryanair.
The defendants, comprising of Booking Holdings, Booking.com and others, have tendered counter allegations which include hampering business relations and participating in unfair business practices. One of the claims involved an accusation of defamation against Ryanair by the travel agent due to some public remarks, but the court dismissed this following an application lodged by Ryanair.
Ryanair, however, sought all counterclaims to be struck down. Despite this, the court withheld the motion relating to the rest of the defendants’ claims. According to a teleconference with industry experts earlier this year, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary signalled that a settlement with Booking.com was unlikely.
Ryanair has penned several agreements with other online travel agencies since the commencement of this year, highlighting meticulous stipulations including the dictate to sell flights at the airline’s listed prices and to permit direct communication between the airline and its passengers.