Brussels court rules Ryanair booking practices unlawful

The Brussels Commercial Court has ruled that several booking practices used by Irish low-cost airline Ryanair are unlawful, ordering the company to amend them or face daily penalties, according to a statement released Tuesday by Belgian consumer organization Testachats, cited by Belga news agency.

The court found that a number of practices used during Ryanair's online booking process violate consumer protection laws, including bundled fare packages, misleading urgency messages such as "only 5 seats left at this price," false reference prices in discount advertisements, and the failure to display checked baggage prices separately for outbound and return flights.

The ruling follows an injunction filed in May last year by Testachats, alleging that Ryanair's booking system was misleading and lacked price transparency.

In its judgment, handed down last week, the court said Ryanair's fare packages are presented in a way that encourages passengers to purchase more expensive options without clearly indicating that services such as priority boarding, reserved seating, and hand luggage can be added individually later at a lower cost.

"Ryanair is careful not to mention this when the package is selected, and not to indicate the price of additional services, in order to encourage the purchase of more expensive packages," Testachats said, adding that the law requires the final price to be clearly displayed from the start of the booking process.

The court also ruled against the airline's use of urgency claims, such as warnings that only a limited number of seats remain at a given price, noting that prices were later observed to fall in several cases. Advertising discounts based on false reference prices was also deemed unlawful.

In addition, the judge ruled that Ryanair must display checked baggage prices separately for outbound and return flights, stating that the current presentation is misleading.

"Several aspects of Ryanair's booking process are currently unclear or misleading," said Jean-Philippe Ducart, a spokesperson for Testachats, calling for clearer price breakdowns to help consumers compare airlines and avoid unnecessary purchases.

Ryanair has been given three months from notification of the ruling to comply. Failure to do so will result in a penalty of €5,000 ($5,902) per day.

However, the court rejected complaints concerning the inclusion of hand luggage in the ticket price and additional charges for seating passengers next to minor children, ruling that these practices are not illegal under current law.