Ryanair, eDreams and Google end long-running legal battle
Ryanair has reached a secret settlement with Google and eDreams to end a two-year legal battle over the latter’s online adverts and on Google AdWords.
However, none of the parties is revealing the conditions of the settlement, which Ryanair said remained confidential.
The airline had filed a complaint against eDreams and Google in the Irish High Court, claiming that eDreams was misleading customers by advertising non-existent Ryanair fares on its website and on Google.
Ryanair had no commercial agreement with eDreams, which it had accused of ‘scraping’ airfares from the airiines website, presenting them on its own website and charging customers for making a booking.
On announcing the settlement, Ryanair spokesman Kenny Jacobs said: "We will continue to offer our customers the lowest fares in Europe and we welcome these measures, which will ensure transparency in relation to the online advertising of air fares, to the benefit of our customers.
"We are pleased to have resolved this issue and we welcome these commitments to consumer-friendly advertising on Google’s AdWords platform."
A Google spokesperson said: "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Ryanair and eDreams. We have clear policies on the type of ads we allow on our platforms and we remain committed to enforcing them to best serve consumers."
eDreams’ Robert McNamara added: "We are satisfied with this resolution and committed to helping travellers across Europe get the best priced and most convenient travel options. Our service is for the benefit of our customers and we hope this agreement will allow all those involved to focus on providing even better value and service to European travellers".
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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