Novetats de Ryanair

News Release

03.10.08

Ryanair Looks Forward to Defending and Defeating the Rumbo Injunction

IN SPAIN

Ryanair, Spain’s largest low fares airline today (3^rd Oct) confirmed that it looks forward to an early hearing in the Spanish Courts and is confident that its appeal against this Rumbo ex parte injunction (at which Ryanair wasn’t represented) will result in it being overturned, and the mis-selling and anti-consumer practices currently engaged in by Rumbo.com will be exposed not just to the Courts, but to the Spanish Consumer Authorities as well.

Contrary to recent false claims that Ryanair was “stunned” by this injunction, Ryanair has always expected some internet screen-scraping “crooks” to try to mislead the Courts across Europe about their over charging of consumers, their hidden add-ons and their mis-selling practices in an attempt to temporarily prevent Ryanair from legally and lawfully excluding these unauthorised intermediaries from imposing themselves in between Ryanair and its passengers and to prevent them from overcharging consumers with hidden handling fees, without the knowledge of those consumers, in what amounts to unlawful mis-selling.

Ryanair, which has not yet received any Court Order, will of course comply with its provisions, until such time as Ryanair’s urgent appeal of this ex parte injunction can be heard. Ryanair today confirmed that its appeal against this injunction will be based on its 26 August submissions to the European Commission on its screenscraper ban which was announced on 5^th August last for the following reasons:

1. These screenscrapers are guilty of unauthorised and unlawful access to the Ryanair.com website.

2. They are in breach of Ryanair.com’s copyright.

3. They are in breach of Ryanair’s terms and conditions of travel, and of use.

4. They do not provide consumers with Ryanair’s accurate terms and conditions.

5. They do not provide consumers with accurate Ryanair pricing.

6. They do not keep consumers informed of changes in Ryanair’s terms and conditions or flight info.

7. They are regularly and consistently over-charging consumers with hidden mark-ups of over 200% or 300% on Ryanair tickets.

8. They are impeding and/or reducing the speed of access of bone fide consumers to flights and prices on Ryanair.com.

Specifically in the case of the Rumbo.com website in Spain, Ryanair will be providing the Spanish Courts with evidence of the following unlawful activities:

a) Ryanair’s fares are being mis-sold to passengers with hidden add-ons and fees which are between 20 times and 50 times the actual cost of Ryanair’s air fare.

b) Rumbo.com is also inflating Ryanair’s credit card handling fees and falsely claiming that these are the fees which Ryanair charges for these discretionary services.

c) Rumbo.com is also inflating the cost of discretionary services such as checked in bags/airport check-in and levying hidden mark ups on consumers without the knowledge of these consumers.

d) Rumbo.com is also misleading consumers by claiming that these inflated baggage and check-in fees (which contain a hidden Rumbo.com mark-up) are Ryanair charges.

e) Rumbo.com makes false claims that these inflated fees are the fees being charged by Ryanair, which is untrue, unlawful and constitutes mis-selling to consumers making Ryanair bookings unlawfully through the Rumbo.com website.

Speaking today, Ryanair’s Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary said:

“While we have yet to receive any official communication from the Spanish Courts in relation to this Rumbo.com action, we have been asked to respond to some claims/reports in the Spanish press that Rumbo.com have obtained an injunction to prevent Ryanair from cancelling tickets purchased by passengers through the Rumbo.com website. I have no doubt (if this is true) that when the Spanish Courts hear Ryanair’s appeal against this injunction that they will be astonished at the hidden mark-ups, the false claims and the mis-selling which consumers making bookings through the Rumbo.com website are being subjected to, without their knowledge.

Ryanair is a privately owned airline which is committed to offering passengers the guaranteed lowest fares and a guarantee of no fuel surcharges, not just in Spain, but all over Europe. This lowest fare guarantee is being totally undermined by various internet screenscraper “crooks” who are levying extortionate hidden mark-ups on Ryanair ticket prices (in the case of Rumbo these mark-ups range from double the cost of the Ryanair fare to 50 times the Ryanair fare) and are also engaged in adding hidden mark-ups to other discretionary fees such as baggage and credit card handling payments which Rumbo is passing off to consumers as being Ryanair fees.

Ryanair is entirely free to choose whether it sells through travel agents or not. Ryanair made that choice many years ago, since we chose to eliminate the high cost of travel agency fees and distribution in order to encourage passengers to book directly on Ryanair.com and enjoy much lower air fares. Ryanair will not allow any intermediary such as internet screenscrapers to insert themselves unlawfully into the transaction between the passenger and Ryanair and in so doing to levy hidden mark-ups and add ons to Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares in a manner which penalises consumers, and misleads these consumer into paying higher prices for Ryanair tickets than are available on the Ryanair.com website.

The European Commission has already examined this matter and found that Ryanair has no case to answer in its screen scraper ban which is perfectly legal. It is the activities of Rumbo and other internet screenscrapers which are, we believe, unlawful and illegal and we look forward to exposing this illegality and these consumer rip offs when our appeal of any Rumbo.com injunction (if such an injunction exists) is finally heard in the Spanish Courts. Ryanair has already successfully won Court injunctions against the unlawful screenscrapers in Ireland, the UK and Germany and we will continue with our campaign to ban screenscrapers and persuade all Ryanair passengers to book their tickets directly on Ryanair.com where they can be guaranteed of availing of the lowest air fares and no fuel surcharges without any hidden or unlawful mark-ups or add-ons.”