DALLAS — Wrapping up a week with legal developments in the aviation industry, Thursday's ruling by an Irish high court declared screen scraping by online travel agents (OTAs) illegal, as it often leads to customers being overcharged.

Several UK websites, including Kiwi.com, eDreams, trip.com, and Super Saver, have been found to use this practice, booking flights and extras for airlines using fabricated customer accounts. According to decisis.ie, Irish courts have jurisdiction to hear an Irish airline’s “screen scraping” claim against UK travel agents.

Budget airline Ryanair (FR) has been advocating against this practice and supports the court ruling. The Irish low-cost carrier has reported instances of customers being overcharged by over 200% for extras and even being charged for non-existent services.

Comments from Ryanair

Ryanair's Director of Marketing & Digital, Dara Brady, expressed FR's appreciation for the High Court's decision. The airline has been granted a permanent injunction to halt the unlawful screen scraping of their data, which violates their Terms of Use. FR says its website is the only authorized platform for selling tickets for its flights.

Over the years, OTAs have heavily relied on screenscrapers like Flightbox, along with fake customer accounts, single-use payment cards, and fictitious customer email addresses, to make bookings on FR's website in clear violation of the Terms of Use.

Brady stresses that this practice causes significant inconvenience and financial burden for customers, as OTAs not only overcharge for fares, baggage, and seats but also restrict customers from managing their bookings or receiving crucial flight updates from FR, such as online check-in reminders.

Featured image: Ryanair 9H-QDK Boeing 737-800. Photo: Julian Schöpfer/Airways