An unhappy passenger who set up a website ihateryanair.co.uk has been forced to hand over the domain name to Ryanair.
But London-based Robert Tyler has moved the site to a new address, ihateryanair.org.
Ryanair complained to a domain name tribunal that the site, set up to air criticism of the budget carrier, took unfair advantage of the Ryanair name for commercial gain. The internet domain name dispute resolution service Nominet ruled in the airline’s favour.
The ihateryanair.co.uk website took more than £300 between January and May through links to travel insurance and foreign currency sites.
Adjudicator Jane Seager stressed that critical content on the site did not constitute “unfair disruption” to the airline.
“In a free and open society internet users should generally be able to post comments on their recent experiences or on current events as long as such postings do not fall foul of the law,” she said.
“Any resulting disruption as a result of criticism appearing on a website (or in any other media for that matter) is merely something that businesses have to deal with on a daily basis.”
Tyler said on the site: “We are yet to decide on whether or not to appeal the decision, it costs around £3,000 to do so, which could be used instead to buy 16,000,000 Ryanair flights (not including booking fees, credit card fees, baggage fees, bus from the airport in the middle of nowhere etc).
“If you think we should appeal against these bullies, let us know. Better still, donate some cash to help us pay for it!”