Ryanair agrees deal with On the Beach as it draws line under bookings feud

Ryanair has agreed to a deal with On the Beach to list its flights on the holiday platform, drawing a line under a feud between the two travel companies.

Shares in On the Beach jumped by 13% on Tuesday morning after the low-cost airline announced the partnership.

Ryanair has been in dispute with online booking sites it brands at “pirates” for selling its flights without permission, ripping off customers and including hidden mark-ups.

There is also an issue with passengers’ contact details not being passed on, making it difficult to provide travel updates and process refunds.

The Irish airline has highlighted companies such as Trip.com and lastminute.com, and also last year accused On the Beach for “knowingly and deliberately overcharging unsuspecting consumers” for Ryanair flights.

On the Beach has denied the claims and accused the company of blocking market competition by stopping passengers booking through online travel agents.

But on Tuesday, Ryanair said the deal with On the Beach guarantees that consumers will not be overcharged when making a booking through the site.

Ryanair’s marketing, digital and communications director Dara Brady said: “On the Beach customers can now book Ryanair flights, seats, and bags as part of their holiday package with the guarantee that they will have full price transparency of Ryanair products (without any overcharges or hidden mark-ups), and that they will receive any information regarding their flight directly from Ryanair as well as having direct access to their booking through their myRyanair account.”

On the Beach’s chief executive Shaun Morton described the partnership as “transformational”, adding: “Importantly, this agreement enables both parties to move on from outstanding litigation and we look forward to working closely with our new partner.”

In a High Court battle last year, three companies in the On the Beach Group were awarded £2 million in damages after suing Ryanair.

The online travel agents claimed it was what they were owed for having to refund package holiday customers in cases where Ryanair cancelled or made major changes to flights.

Ryanair has also agreed to partnerships with travel groups Tui, loveholidays and Kiwi.com to sell its flights in recent months.

Mr Brady has previously said the company is happy to work with online travel agents provided they “play by our rules”.

Ryanair also cautioned last month that its profit for the year could be impacted by the removal of its flights from some booking sites.