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Spain rules in favour of Ryanair against online travel agency Kiwi
The Irish airline implemented a complicated verification procedure for passengers who book flights through agencies
In an industry first, the Spanish commercial court has ruled in favour of Irish airline Ryanair in its case against online travel agency (OTA) Kiwi.
The court has rejected an injunction by the travel agency to suspend the carrier’s verification procedures for passengers whose bookings are made by OTAs.
"Ryanair does not have a commercial relationship with Kiwi, and we strongly object to Kiwi selling our flights," the budget airline's marketing, digital and communications chief Dara Brady commented.
Ryanair’s battle with OTA’s is a long-standing one and the airline has previously urged customers to only book flights directly through its website to avoid hidden costs and charges. However, the company’s extensive verification process for passengers who book through a third party has already been criticised by Spanish consumer agencies, and Kiwi has slammed Madrid Commerical Court for failing to scrutinise the process enforced for indirect customers.
"This new verification process, which is an excessive and invasive collection of personal information, followed by charging consumers fees at the airport, sometimes more than the cost of the flight itself, goes against everything we stand for," Kiwi said in a statement.
"While it is disappointing that there will not be an immediate suspension of this so-called 'verification', we trust that the final decision will remove Ryanair's new verification process and restore our customers' position of having freedom of choice, which this unilateral action is seeking to erode," the OTA added.
On the other hand, Ryanair insisted that the extra steps are vital since OTA’s frequently provide inaccurate passenger information.
In this, the judge agreed, and appears to have validated the airline’s claims that many OTAs deliberately advertise "discounted fares" only to tack on hidden price mark-ups later, such as payments for luggage and airport check-ins.
In other news: Ryanair flight from Spain suffers engine failure
Image: Archive
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