Ryanair’s war with travel sites could be good news

The removal of the airline’s flights from the likes of Kayak and Booking.com may bring cheaper fares, says Nick Trend

The battle between Ryanair and travel websites that try to sell its flights took a new turn this week. According to the airline, several major sites, including Kayak, Kiwi and Booking.com, last month removed all of its flights from sale. This means that as well as being unable to book, you won’t be able to see information about Ryanair’s fares or routes on these platforms. So why is this happening, and what does it mean for consumers?

Ryanair has a long history of determination to control the sale of its flights and prevent online travel agents from “screen scraping” (capturing details of its fares and flights from its website) without permission or selling them on at a mark-up. For example, in 2019, after lawsuits in the United States and Ireland, Expedia stopped listing Ryanair flights.

Ryanair suggests that the latest move may be the result of a recent court case in Ireland, which granted the airline a permanent injunction against the company Flightbox. But it has also launched legal action in the US against Booking.com owner Booking Holdings and its subsidiaries (which include Kayak). When approached for details of its own rationale, Booking.com said it will not comment “on the ongoing legal proceedings between Booking.com and Ryanair in the United States”.

The intricacies of inter-company lawsuits are of little interest to consumers, however – what matters is what happens as a result. Here are the three key implications:

LOWER PRICES

Ryanair said that as a result of the latest developments, its load factors (the proportion of seats sold on each flight) have dropped by 1-2 per cent in December and January. Even a small fall can lead to a downturn in profits. Ryanair says it will respond by “lowering fares where necessary”. We will never know for sure whether fares will be lower than they might have been, because so many factors are involved in pricing. But the latest move will exert downward pressure.

FINDING THE BEST FARES

A key problem for the consumer – and potentially Ryanair – is that if major airlines don’t appear on well-known travel websites, it is harder to research and find the cheapest fares and most convenient routes. The most comprehensive flight comparison website, Skyscanner.net, does still list Ryanair. But overall, the airline will now appear on fewer sites. As well as its own platform, Kayak powers other important options, such as TravelSupermarket.

PROTECTION

Not much will change here, though if you want to book flight-only arrangements for travel within Europe, your best bet is to do so directly with the airline. But it remains the case that only package holidays and some discounted long-haul flights are automatically covered by financial protection laws.

HOW TO BOOK

International airfares work differently depending on whether they are shorthaul (less than five hours) or long-haul. My advice for short-haul flights is always to book directly with the airline (or as part of a package holiday with a conventional travel agent). By all means compare fares with sites like Skyscanner, but once you have found one that suits you best, go directly to the airline’s website. An online agent may – as Ryanair suggests – charge a premium, and if your flight is cancelled or altered, you may have problems sorting them out.

For long-haul flights, it is always worth checking fares and options with a reputable expert travel agent like Trailfinders, Flight Centre or Dialaflight. And you will probably do well to take the old-fashioned course of making a phone call to talk through your options – there are so many different potential routes, fares and deals that you will nearly always find the best solution through a two-way conversation.

If you have had a problem with your holiday or travel arrangements, contact our troubleshooter, Gill Charlton, or our consumer expert, Nick Trend, at the email address below. We also have more than 150 destination experts all over the world who can help with suggestions for great places to stay, to eat and to visit. Please email asktheexperts @telegraph.co.uk, giving your full name and, if your query is about a dispute with a travel company, your address, telephone number and any booking reference. We regret that we cannot personally answer all queries, but your email will be acknowledged.

j Screen time: consumers will have to do more legwork to find fares, but they may be lower