Ryanair has taken on Google for 'misleading' eDreams advertising

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Ryanair has accused screen-scraper websites such as eDreams of paying for Google advertising to rank above the official Ryanair website on Google searches.

It is not the first time that Ryanair has fought a series screen-scraper websites to stop them selling tickets on its flights without permission.

But the latest case marks pits the plane carrier against Google, as it fights third parties that it says rip off its customers with inflated prices online.

Ryanair’s latest tactic is to attack Google directly, calling on it to enforce greater transparency on its online advertising.

The Irish airline claims that Ryanair customers have been misled into booking with the eDreams website, rather than its own. This leads to flyers facing hidden charges, while the airline does not have their contact details to inform them about flight changes

“EDreams has been unlawfully selling Ryanair flights, by masquerading as Ryanair.com, and then offering customers a substandard service,” Kenny Jacobs, the airline’s chief market officer, said.

“While we have no issue with Google advertising in general, it is unfair that it is used as a mechanism to mislead customers.”

In common with other budget airlines, Easyjet also saw a surge of passengers in September, carrying 7.6% more passengers than it did the previous month. September’s results followed a record-breaking month in August.

The airline said it was on track to make full year pre-tax profits of £675million – 700million.