Travel agents not to boycott Ryanair

The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) and a number of individual travel agents yesterday gave undertakings to the High Court not to engage in any boycott of Ryanair.

The association and a number of travel agents had hoped to force Ryanair to reverse a decision it took last year to reduce the commission it paid to travel agents selling its tickets.

The airline reduced the commission from the standard 9 per cent to 7.5 per cent. When the ITAA announced its decision to organise a boycott, the Competition Authority said this would be anti-competitive. The association then said it would pursue "other courses of action".

The High Court proceedings were initiated by the authority in April of this year following a lengthy investigation. The authority alleged a breach of section 4 (1) of the Competition Act, 1991, which prohibits agreements, decisions or concerted practices which have the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition.

The ITAA undertakings provide that it will not seek to organise any actions designed to encourage members not to sell Ryanair products. A number of travel agents undertook not to take any steps to boycott Ryanair products with the aim of forcing it to increase commission on tickets. The agents are Portlaoise Travel Ltd, Club Travel Ltd, Tony Bond Travel, Sunset Tours & Travel and Arrow Tours.

A number of travel agents are known to have introduced a special fee, in the region of £5, which is imposed whenever they sell Ryanair tickets and is designed to replace the lost commission. But a spokesman for the authority said that was not an issue for them.

If an agent wants to introduce a special fee then they may do so, he said. If Ryanair want to stop selling their tickets through that outlet, they may do so.

In November of last year Dun Laoghaire Travel failed in the High Court to get an order preventing Ryanair from terminating a ticket sales agreement. The airline had taken the move after the agent had introduced a special £5 service charge on sales of Ryanair tickets worth less than £80.

A spokeswoman for Ryanair said customers who are asked to pay a special fee for Ryanair tickets should "go to the shop next door". She said only a small number of agents were charging such fees.

A travel industry source said there is the beginning of a movement generally among airlines towards the reduction of the 9 per cent commission which is currently the norm. The implication of this is that travel agents will begin to introduce fees and charges for the services they provide to customers when selling them airline tickets or holidays.