Italy’s competitions authority the Autorita’ Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) has rejected eDreams’ injunction against Ryanair’s direct distribution policy, stating there is no danger of serious damage to competition.
Ryanair has signed “aApproved OTA” agreements with six OTAs, loveholidays, Kiwi, TUI, On the Beach, eSky and El Corte Inglés.
Michael O’Leary of Ryanair said: eDreams’ efforts have yet again failed. We welcome yesterday’s AGCM ruling to dismiss eDreams application for an injunction against Ryanair. The AGCM clearly saw through false claims made to it by Spanish OTA eDreams about Ryanair’s pro-consumer distribution policy. The Milan Court of Appeal in Jan already ruled that Ryanair’s direct online sales policy is economically justified, leads to lower costs and lower fares, and undoubtedly benefits consumers. As OTAs like eDreams continue to scam and overcharge Italian consumers with hidden mark-ups and invented charges for Ryanair services, we repeat our call on the AGCM to now take urgent action to protect Italian consumers from these overcharging OTs like eDreams, Opodo and Booking.com. We call for the AGCM to investigate and take action against OTAs like eDreams, Opodo, and Booking.com to protect Italian consumers from overcharging.”
