AS MANY OTAS CONTINUE TO PROVIDE INCORRECT PASSENGER CONTACT & PAYMENT DETAILS BLOCKING PASSENGERS FROM MANAGING THEIR BOOKINGS & RECEIVING IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFO

Ryanair, Europe’s no. 1 airline, today (3^rd Aug) called on customers to always book directly with airlines as many online travel agents (OTAs) provide airlines with inaccurate passenger details which can block passengers from managing their bookings and making the necessary security declarations required for travel, as well as preventing them from receiving important travel information from the airline, including potential departure time changes, delays, and cancellation updates.

Ryanair does not have any commercial relationship with OTAs, and OTAs are not authorized by Ryanair to sell its flights. Ryanair has long campaigned to protect customers from the malpractices of OTAs, including the introduction of a customer verification process, which enables passengers who have booked via OTAs to identify themselves to Ryanair in order to comply with flight safety and security protocols, and also to allow them to confirm their contact details.  However, the best way for customers to protect themselves from OTAs is to only book where they see the Ryanair Verified Seal

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“OTAs continue to mislead passengers to believe that they are getting the cheapest price available by falsely advertising lower fares than the airline themselves. However, these “discounted fares” are often nothing but clickbait to lure customers in before hitting them with hidden mark-ups of up to 200% in some cases.

Not only are OTAs charging customers more than the true Ryanair fare, but many also provide Ryanair with incorrect email addresses for passengers meaning that we cannot communicate with the passenger directly to share essential flight information and updates, including potential departure time changes. Many OTAs also withhold booking details from passengers, which blocks passengers from accessing and managing their bookings themselves, for example, to confirm that any luggage they wish to bring complies with flight safety regulations. We saw this issue only last week when OTA customers travelling to/from Rhodes during the forest fires were unable to access their bookings to avail of Ryanair’s free change of flight option. The OTAs were nowhere to be seen.  Thankfully, these passengers who had booked via OTAs availed of our customer verification process and our Customer Services Team were able to support them and change their flights.

Ryanair has long campaigned to protect customers against the malpractices of OTAs, including the introduction of several measures to support customers, such as the Ryanair Verified Seal and customer verification to allow passengers to take back control of their booking when OTAs provide incorrect passenger details to Ryanair.

Ryanair will continue to raise awareness of and protect customers from OTAs’ anti-consumer practices and we call on customers to always look out for the Ryanair Verified Seal and book directly on our website / app for the lowest fares and direct customer care.”