Recently, sites such as Booking, Kiwi and Kayak have stopped selling Ryanair flight tickets. The low-cost airline confirmed this, saying it was not at all worried about what the Irish carrier’s senior management viewed as a “nice choice”. How come? Because it wants to encourage passengers to book directly through the website. But let’s go in order.
Ryanair removed from online platforms: “Welcome removal”
“Since the beginning of December, many of the largest pirate OTAs (Online Travel Agencies, ed.) such as Booking.com, Kiwi, Kayak have suddenly removed Ryanair flights from sale on their websites,” the low-cost airline said. Irish cost. This doesn’t worry the Irish air carrier at all (with numbers set to rise in 2023), in fact it seems to be “welcomed”. In fact, Ryanair “does not expect the removal of bookings made through pirate OTAs to significantly impact 2024 traffic or guidance”.
Following the defence, the Michael O’Leary-led company went on the offensive, declaring that it would “respond to the removal of its flights from pirate OTA websites by reducing fares where necessary to encourage all passengers to book directly through Ryanair.com”. Where you are always guaranteed to get the lowest airfares without pirate OTA surcharges, fake contact information or other price/refund scams.”
Ryanair’s sales fall in December 2023
Ryanair stated that these travel sites were merely representative, commenting: “This welcome removal may be the result of pressure from consumer protection agencies or a response to the recent Irish Supreme Court decision granting Ryanair a permanent injunction against the activities of these online travel agencies.” a “small portion” of their bookings. While the company expects the occupancy rate to be negatively affected immediately by 1-2 percent in December and January, it believes that this choice will not have any impact on 2024.
December data already shows the first effects. The low-cost airline carried 12.54 million passengers in the last month of 2023, recording a 9 percent increase in traffic compared to 11.52 million in the same period of 2022. On the other hand, the occupancy rate was decreasing. Percentage of available seats an airline can sell on flights: 91 percent, compared to 92 percent a year ago.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
