Ryanair News

 
News Release
11.03.10

Screenscraper Rip-off - Ryanair flights from Dublin to Kerry for just €8,010

 
Travel Agent website charges €8,010 for €10 Ryanair flight
 
National Consumer Agencies ignoring screenscraper rip-offs
 
Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, today (11th Mar) called on consumer agencies throughout Europe to tackle the anti-consumer practices of screenscraping ticket-tout websites after a German  travel agent website, billigweg.de, quoted €8,010 for a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Kerry which costs just €10 when booked directly on Ryanair.com.
 
Ryanair, who recently won the legal right to bring proceedings in Ireland against screenscraping websites, called today on national consumer agencies to explain why they have taken no action against these overcharging websites. Ryanair confirmed that it has written to the Irish National Consumer Agency and the German Consumer Organisation Wettbeverbszentrale to highlight the anti-consumer practices of screensraper websites which advertise the ‘lowest fares available’ when these fares are actually at hugely inflated prices (in this case 800 times more expensive).
 
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
           
“Ryanair today highlights just how much passengers can be ripped-off by screenscraper websites with a €8,000 mark-up on a €10 Ryanair flight from Dublin to Kerry. This example perfectly demonstrates the need for consumer bodies throughout Europe to get tough on these overcharging ticket touts who charge extortionate fees while claiming to offer the lowest fares.
 
“This scam is ripping off passengers to the tune of billions each year and without action it will continue and intensify as these greedy sites make more and more money from unsuspecting consumers who do not realise that it is always cheaper to book directly from www.ryanair.com ”.
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