- Momondo was first comparison site to be licensed by Ryanair.
- License since extended to SkyScanner, Hipmunk and Dohop
Ryanair revoked a licencing agreement with Momondo following an alleged breach of contract and urged customers to book directly on the Ryanair.com website.
Momondo was the very first website to be granted a non-exclusive licence to display Ryanair’s fares for price comparison purposes, one of a number of travel websites including licenced to do so.
Ryanair says it revoked its licence after Momondo displayed links to what it called “unauthorised screenscrape” websites including Opodo and CheapOair, which unlawfully mis-sell Ryanair’s low fares, in clear breach of the licence agreement.”
Ryanair has been engaged in several legal cases across Europe against screenscraper websites such as Opodo and eDreams to prevent consumers from being subjected to extra charges and to ensure Ryanair has appropriate contact details to communicate with its customers.
Ryanair has commenced legal proceedings in the Irish High Court against both Google and eDreams to stop them advertising Ryanair fares via the eDreams website and Google search adverts.
In March, the London Advertising Standards Authority found that eDreams’ and Opodo’s advertising on Google was “misleading” consumers and breached the CAP code, and London CAA forced eDreams and Opodo to change their Google adwords practices, website appearance and headline prices, following submissions by Ryanair.
Copenhagen based Momondo was founded in Denmark in 2006 and was purchased in 2011 by Cheapflights, to be renamed Momondo Group Cheapflights was originally founded in 1996 by the travel editor of Harpers & Queen, John Hatt. In 2000, the company was purchased by David Soskin and Hugo Burge.
Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said: “As Momondo was in clear breach of the terms of our contract by actively linking to screenscraper websites, we have revoked its licence in an effort to prevent any more customers being misled. It’s important to note that Ryanair has no commercial agreement whatsover with Opodo or CheapOair, who continue to engage in unauthorised screenscraping and sell on Ryanair’s low fares. We again urge customers to book directly on the Ryanair.com website.”
