On the Beach accuses Ryanair of market abuse

The online travel agent On the Beach has launched legal action against Ryanair in the High Court.

It claims the budget airline has tried to prevent it from booking seats on flights on behalf of its customers, as well as making its customers go through costly and onerous check-in procedures.

The two sides have previously been at odds over refunds for flights cancelled during the pandemic.

Ryanair has yet to comment on the claim.

On the Beach sells package holidays online via its websites and app. These can include flights with Ryanair, which it says has a dominant position on many popular short-haul holiday routes, such as from Manchester to Alicante and Lanzarote.

However, it alleges that Ryanair is reluctant for its flights to be sold via third parties, because it makes a considerable amount of its revenue from selling extra services, such as hotel bookings, priority boarding and car hire through its website.

Such revenues typically account for more than a third of Ryanair's operating income.

Ryanair itself has previously warned customers not to make bookings through online travel agents, on the grounds that they could be overcharged, while the airline might be unable to obtain essential customer contract and payment details.

It has accused online agencies of providing it with "fake email addresses and virtual credit cards" to complete bookings.

In its claim, On the Beach describes such allegations as "disparaging and untrue", at least where its own services are concerned.

It accepts that it does make a profit on flights sold through its own website, but points out that it operates in a highly competitive industry and as a result its profits are "constrained to competitive levels".

Ryanair has long had a difficult relationship with online travel agents, which it refers to as "screenscrapers".

Although they do sell seats on Ryanair planes, it believes they offer inflated fares and divert traffic away from its own website, depriving it of the opportunity to earn money from selling extra services such as priority boarding, car hire and hotel rooms.

According to On the Beach, Ryanair has deliberately tried to prevent it from making bookings, for example by rejecting credit card numbers identified as belonging to the agency.

It has also accused the airline of withholding refunds for cancelled flights and making passengers who booked through third parties undergo onerous and sometimes costly check-in and verification procedures.

It claims Ryanair has breached competition law by abusing its dominant position on popular holiday routes. Ryanair, which has yet to file a defence, has not commented on the claims.