Ryanair welcomes French court ruling against ‘parasitic’ online travel agent

The Tribunal de Commerce de Paris (Commercial Court of Paris) said the offending company, Lastminute, was engaging in “parasitism”.

The court ordered the immediate cessation of Lastminute’s unlawful selling of Ryanair flights, subject to a daily fine of €1,000.

It also ordered that Lastminute pay Ryanair €50,000 for “free riding” without Ryanair’s consent on Ryanair’s website, and that Lastminute contribute €10,000 towards Ryanair’s costs in the case.

In addition, the Court rejected Lastminute’s application that Ryanair should be prohibited from selling ancillary products and services.

Robin Kiely, a spokesperson for Ryanair, said: “We welcome this Paris Commercial Court ruling upholding Ryanair’s right to determine its own distribution model which is guaranteed under the constitutional freedom of trade and industry in France.

“The sale of ancillary products and services is essential to enable Ryanair to continue to offer the lowest fares to its customers.

“We again urge consumers to avoid ‘screenscrapers’ such as Lastminute and book directly on the Ryanair website, the only place to find the cheapest Ryanair fares.”