Hammonds forces Ryanair to accept third-party website tickets

Hammonds has won an injunction against Ryanair on behalf of a German price-comparison website after the airline threatened to refuse to honour bookings made via third parties.

In August the no-frills ­airline announced it would not accept any online bookings unless they were made through Ryanair’s own website, with passengers being told they would be turned away at the check-in desk.

Ryanair claimed that bookings made through third-party websites were against its terms and conditions and said consumers were being forced to pay a commission on top of their airfare. It is estimated that around 1,000 bookings a day are made across Europe through third-party sites.

The Frankfurt District Court granted a preliminary injunction against the ­airline after a request was filed by Hammonds client Cheaptickets BV, an online agent based in the Netherlands, which operates in Germany through its site www.cheaptickets.de.

Under the injunction Ryanair will be forced to accept tickets purchased through price comparison websites.

Hammonds partner Dr Philipp Süss said similar injunctions were being sought in the UK.

Ryanair is expected to appeal. It was represented by Dr Jorg Kahler of GSK Stockman & Kollegen.