O’Leary claims ‘ticket-tout’ websites inflated prices up to 300%

RYANAIR has written to the European Commission telling it “ticket-tout” websites have inflated its flights by as much as 300%.

The airline made the claim in defending its decision to cancel bookings made on the third-party websites.

Ryanair said it had provided the European Commission with detailed documentary evidence to demonstrate that the “screenscraper/ticket-tout” websites were:

* Guilty of unauthorised and illegal access to the Ryanair.com website.

* In breach of Ryanair.com’s copyright.

* In breach of Ryanair’s terms and conditions of travel and terms and conditions of use.

* Do not provide consumers with accurate details of Ryanair’s pricing.

* Regularly and consistently overcharge consumers with more than 200% or 300% hidden mark-ups on Ryanair’s ticket prices.

“Ryanair provided the European Commission with evidence of four specific websites, Bravofly.com, Edreams.com,Volgratis.com, Wegelo.com, in which the airline’s ticket prices had been inflated by 200% or 300%, without the consumer’s knowledge, and these hidden mark-ups are billed to the consumer as if this was the Ryanair ticket price,” an airline spokeswoman said.

“Ryanair has pointed out to the European Commission that the illegal and unauthorised activities of these screenscraper/ticket-tout websites have in recent weeks caused dramatic slowdowns and outages on the Ryanair.com website, resulting in bona fide consumers being unable to access Ryanair’s timetables, prices or make bookings on Ryanair.com.”

The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said: “We have responded to the European Commission’s inquiries by providing them with documentary evidence of this unauthorised, illegal ticket-tout scam being perpetrated on consumers by these screenscraper websites.

“It is remarkable, but unsurprising, that a number of European government agencies and the European Commission has sought to blame Ryanair for blocking the illegal activities of these screenscrapers, instead of tackling the real consumer scandal, which is the hidden 200% or 300% mark ups being levied and overcharged on innocent consumers by these illegal screenscraper/ticket-tout websites.”

The ongoing battle over the “screenscraping” came as German newspaper Die Welt claimed Ryanair had been ordered by a German court to honour tickets bought from travel agencies through the internet.

The newspaper said the decree issued by a regional court in Frankfurt was in favour of the CheapTickets.de website, which had requested a ruling, the newspaper reported.