RYANAIR CALLS ON EDREAMS CEO TO CONFESS WHETHER IT’S MISLEADING THE AGCM, OR EDREAMS SHAREHOLDERS??

Ryanair today (Thurs 11 Apr) called upon the AGCM Chairman Roberto Rustichelli to explain why he has allowed the AGCM to be misled by OTA Pirates such as eDreams, and why he has ignored the recent ruling of the Milan Court of Appeal, which dismissed the false claims of OTA Pirates and ruled that Ryanair’s direct sales policy was “reasonable” and led to lower costs and lower fares for consumers. On a 28 Feb investor call, when asked if eDreams would agree to become an “Approved OTA” partner with Ryanair, eDreams CEO Dana Dunne told investors that eDreams “are one of the largest flight retailers in the world” and “have many other options in other ways given our scale and size” (attached). However, just one month later, Ryanair believes eDreams misled the AGCM claiming there is an immediate risk to its “very survival” if it cannot offer Ryanair flights for sale in Italy outside of Ryanair’s “Approved OTA” agreement.  This glaring contradiction between eDreams’ claims to its investors and its claims to the AGCM clearly shows that eDreams is misleading one or other party.  

Ryanair has signed “Approved OTA” agreements with multiple OTAs, including Loveholidays, Kiwi, TUI, On the Beach, eSky and El Corte Inglés. These partnerships are based on transparent pricing for consumers as required by EU law. This contrasts with the OTA Pirate model currently being used by eDreams and others which involve unlawful digital piracy (screenscraping) of Ryanair.com, and inflating airline prices with hidden overcharges or invented “fees” which harm Italian consumers.

Ryanair continues to campaign for consumer protection from OTA Pirates like eDreams, Opodo and Booking.com, and calls again on the AGCM and Chairman Roberto Rustichelli to act against OTA Pirate overcharging.  The failure of the AGCM to protect Italian consumers is indefensible in the wake of the (Jan 2024) Milan Court of Appeal ruling which recognised that Ryanair’s direct sales policy is “economically justified” in “eliminating the costs associated with intermediation in ticket sales” and has led to lower costs and lower fares for Italian consumers.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:
“The AGCM and its Chairman Roberto Rustichelli must not allow themselves to be misled by false claims from OTA Pirates, such as eDreams, particularly when these claims contradict recent market-sensitive statements to their own investors, and the pro-consumer Jan 2024 Milan Court of Appeal ruling.

The Milan Court of Appeal’s ruling dismissed these false OTA Pirate claims, and ruled that Ryanair’s direct online sales policy is “reasonable” and leads to lower costs and lower fares for Italian consumers, whereas unauthorised OTA Pirates like eDreams, continue to scam Italian passengers with hidden mark-ups and inflated prices for Ryanair services as shown above.

When will Roberto Rustichelli & the AGCM finally take action to protect Italian consumers from eDreams’ hidden mark-ups and internet piracy and follow the conclusive pro-consumer ruling of the Milan Court of Appeal?”