The Office of Fair Trading has admitted its efforts to make airline fares include all non-optional extras has left Ryanair displaying misleading prices while other leading carriers comply.
The OFT said technical issues prevented Ryanair and rival Aer Lingus changing their booking processes immediately. But while Aer Lingus will comply by September, Ryanair has until February 1 to do so – meaning its headline fares will undercut competitors throughout the rest of the summer, autumn and key winter booking months.
Eleven other airlines – easyJet, bmibaby, Flybe, Thomsonfly, Flythomascook, Monarch, Jet2, Globespan, Wizz Air, SkyEurope and Germanwings – met an OFT deadline of July 31 to include all fixed, non-optional charges in online fares.
OFT consumer protection group head Mike Haley admitted: “Other airlines will be compliant, while Ryanair’s fares will be misleading. We advise consumers to be wary of Ryanair because they will not see fully inclusive prices.”
He said it had taken “significant pressure” to win compliance from other airlines and insisted there were genuine technical reasons for the delay at Ryanair, saying the problems had been verified by an independent source.
But Trading Standards lead officer for travel Bruce Treloar said: “Everyone else can get their technology systems up to scratch. Ryanair and Aer Lingus will have a competitive advantage over other airlines.”
He said Trading Standards would monitor the situation.
ABTA expressed disappointment and said it would seek talks with the OFT. A spokeswoman said: “This has an impact on our members. We hoped the OFT would work with us.”
However, a spokesman for easyJet, which met the deadline, said: “We are not agitated. The OFT is clearly convinced Ryanair has technical issues.”