RYANAIR’S MAY SURVEY SHOWS EDREAMS OVERCHARGES OF 116% (€28.04 FOR A €12.99 ONE-WAY FLIGHT ON RYANAIR.COM)

Ryanair today (7 May) released its May OTA Pirate survey which exposed eDreams as No.1 OTA Pirate for the third month in a row, overcharging customers €28.04 (more than double) for an €12.99 one-way flight on Ryanair.com (a hidden mark-up of 116%). While eDreams continues to be the worst of the rip-off OTA Pirates, Ryanair’s May survey shows that other OTA Pirates such as Opodo, Gotogate and Mytrip continue to scam unsuspecting consumers with hidden overcharges and invented “service” fees of up to €65 when no such fees exist on Ryanair.com.

eDreams refuses to explain why it unlawfully screen scrapes Ryanair’s website to scam consumers with hidden mark-ups when it could agree to sell Ryanair flights with transparent pricing? Ryanair has signed “Approved OTA” distribution agreements with El Corte Inglés, loveholidays, Kiwi, TUI, On the Beach, and eSky, under which they agreed to stop screen scraping, and to stop overcharging consumers with inflated air fares, inflated ancillary fees and for invented fees for non-existent services.

Ryanair continues to campaign for consumer protection from OTA Pirates like eDreams, submitting a complaint to the Spanish Consumer Affairs Minister (Pablo Bustinduy) last week, calling on him to outlaw eDreams “Prime” scam which continues to dupe and overcharge unsuspecting consumers. eDreams “Prime” promises “Discounts on 100% of your flights, accommodations and car rentals”but uses a combination of hidden mark-ups and fictitious “discounts” on airfares to bait unsuspecting consumers into paying a yearly subscription fee (currently €64.99) yet they still pay inflated Ryanair prices due to eDreams hidden mark-ups – thereby getting no benefit whatsoever for their “Prime” subscription. eDreams “Prime” is the definition of an anti- consumer scam Minister Bustinduy should outlaw it.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“Yet again our OTA pirate of the month is eDreams. This is the third month in a row eDreams has been exposed as the biggest OTA Pirate, overcharging unsuspecting customers by a scandalous 116% (€28.04) for a one-way flight that costs just €12.99 on Ryanair.com.

It is indefensible that eDreams (among other OTA Pirates) continues to dupe and scam consumers. Not only are they overcharging consumers with unjustified hidden mark ups, they are fabricating fees for non-existent services, like their  fake “cancellation” fees of €60 when Ryanair flights cannot be cancelled. The most egregious of these scams is eDreams “Prime” which misleads customers into paying eDreams an annual of €64.99 with the promise of discounts but in fact, they are still being overcharged by eDreams for Ryanair flights and ancillary services.

Ryanair has written to EU Govts and consumer authorities calling on them to protect consumers from OTA Pirates, including our recent complaint to the Spanish Consumer Affairs Ministry last week, calling on Minister Pablo Bustinduy to outlaw eDreams’ misleading marketing practices and put a stop to its fictitious discounts, its hidden mark-ups and its “Prime” subscription model which lacks transparency but sucks consumers into automatic renewals and fee hikes without the consumer’s consent.”