Ryanair has sent a cease and desist letter to a new travel firm established by Budget Travel founder and Irish Life & Permanent chairwoman Gillian Bowler forbidding it from selling its flights
The no-frills airline said this afternoon that ClickandGo.com has no arrangement or agreement with Ryanair must therefore immediately desist from "unlawfully selling" its flights.
“Ryanair only permits third party websites to display our lowest fares, for prices comparison purposes only, if they sign a licence agreement and make a charitable donation of €100. ClickandGo.com has no such licence and would appear to be displaying and selling Ryanair seats in contravention of our policies,” the company said in a statement.
ClickandGo.com, which began operations this morning, offers a range of package deals in Spain, Portugal, France, the Canaries and Madeira. It also allows individuals to build their own holidays.
The firm claims its prices are on average 33 per cent lower than similar package deals offered by rival travel firms.
The company is fully bonded and offers a guarantee to cover the risk of holidays being cancelled or delayed as a result of the volcanic ash which has led to widespread disruption in recent months.
ClickandGo.com bis headed up by Ms Bowler and her husband and former Budget Travel director Harry Sydner. Other key figures associated with the new business include Bob Haugh, chairman of The Travel Department and Eugene Corcoran, former managing director of Budget Travel.
Paul Hackett, the former head of Marketing at Budget Travel will be the new company’s chief executive.
Ms Bowler said today that the new firm was designed as a “next generation” travel business.
“The internet and the rise of self-packaged holidays has altered the face of the travel business forever. Traditional travel companies are still in denial but we want to set up a business which embraces the internet and which makes it work for us and our customers,” she said.
Ms Bowler also said that the company would bring much needed competition to the holiday market in Ireland.
“Between them TUI and Thomas Cook now control about 85 per cent of the package holiday market in Ireland. The market is very uncompetitive and consumers are paying over the odds as a result. We want to challenge that cosy market and bring back real value and choice to Irish consumers,” she said.
The company said it expects to cater for approximately 10,000 holiday makers this year with that figure rising sharply over the coming three years. It will market inbound holiday packages in Ireland to international visitors for spring next year.
