Ryanair and booking.com reach agreement in long-running resale dispute

Ryanair has struck a deal with Booking Holdings to let its Booking.com and KAYAK websites resell the airline's tickets, the companies said on Tuesday.

Ryanair has struck a deal with Booking Holdings to let its Booking.com and KAYAK websites resell the airline's tickets, the companies said on Tuesday, apparently drawing a line under their years-long legal dispute over the issue.

Ryanair has in recent years launched a series of legal actions against third-party booking platforms that resell its tickets without agreement, including Booking. It has accused them of adding additional charges and making it difficult for the airline to contact passengers.

Since the start of last year, it has signed agreements with a number of platforms, including Kiwi.com and Expedia to allow the resale of tickets.

A joint statement by Ryanair and Booking said the deal would provide "full price transparency" and allow customers to receive essential flight updates directly.

The statement did not say whether a final resolution had been secured in a US legal case between the two over the legality of the scraping of Ryanair's site by Booking websites. The case was brought initially by Ryanair in 2020, but has been subject to a series of appeals.

The agreement also relates to Booking's Priceline and Agoda websites, the statement added.

Reuters