RYANAIR CALLS ON EDREAMS TO PROVE THAT THEY “OFFER MORE COMPETITIVE PRICES” THAN RYANAIR WHEN EVIDENCE SHOWS EDREAMS PRIME OVERCHARGES CONSUMERS

Ryanair today (13 May) called on eDreams CEO, Dana Dunne, to explain their false claims in the Spanish media that eDreams “offers more competitive prices than Ryanair” when the Ryanair’s published monthly evidence shows eDreams and eDreams Prime is overcharging consumers.

On a 28 Feb call, when asked if eDreams would 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.” However, just one month later, eDreams misled the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) falsely claiming there was an immediate risk to its “very survival” if it cannot continue to overcharge for Ryanair flights. This glaring contradiction between eDreams’ claims to its investors and its claims to the AGCM clearly shows that eDreams is telling lies to one or other party, and is now telling lies to the Spanish media too.

Ryanair has signed “Approved OTA” agreements with multiple OTAs, including El Corte Inglés, Loveholidays, Kiwi, TUI, On the Beach, and eSky. These partnerships guarantee transparent pricing for consumers as required by EU law. This contrasts with the OTA Pirate model being used by eDreams and others which involves unlawful digital piracy (screenscraping) of the Ryanair.com website, and then inflating Ryanair prices with hidden overcharges or invented “fees” which seriously harm Spanish consumers, as recently exposed in Ryanair’s May OTA Pirate survey (see below).

EDREAMS’ MAY OVERCHARGES
PRODUCT	ED PRICE	RYR PRICE	OVERCHARGE
Flight Fare	€28.04	€12.99	+116%
Res. Seat	€10.32	€8.00	+29%
“Cancellation” Fee*	€60.00	€0	€60.00

*Ryanair flights are not cancellable so eDreams “cancellation fee” is a scam.

Ryanair continues to campaign for consumer protection from overcharging OTA Pirates like eDreams, and submitted a complaint to the Spanish Consumer Affairs Minister (Pablo Bustinduy) on 29 Apr, calling on him to outlaw eDreams “Prime” scam which continues to dupe and overcharge unsuspecting Spanish 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 Ryanair 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 €65 “Prime” subscription. eDreams “Prime” is the definition of an anti- consumer scam and Minister Bustinduy should outlaw it.

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary said:

“Ryanair calls on eDreams CEO, Dana Dunne, to explain why he is not only telling lies to regulators or his own shareholders with their contradictory claims. He should also explain eDreams false claims to the Spanish media too that eDreams ‘offer more competitive prices than Ryanair’, when eDreams continues to dupe and scam Spanish consumers with unjustified overcharges, hidden mark-ups and completely fabricated ‘fees’. Mr. Dunne should also explain why he’s unlawfully screenscraping Ryanair’s website and then using Ryanair’s very low fares to lure unsuspecting customers to his “eDreams Prime” subscription scam, which automatically renews in the second year at an increased price without delivering any real value to consumers, because eDreams still overcharges Prime subscribers for inflated Ryanair air fares and ancillary services.

“eDreams “Prime” has been baiting, scamming, and overcharging Spanish consumers for too long. We call on Spanish Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy to take immediate action to outlaw eDreams’ false marketing practices and put a stop to its fake discounts, its hidden mark-ups, its bogus “cancellation” fee for non-cancellable Ryanair flights, and its Prime subscription model which lacks transparency, but leads to automatic renewals and fee hikes without the consumer’s consent.”