Lawyers representing Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) have asked a Delaware judge to dismiss a defamation claim from the online travel agency (OTA), Booking.com, in the latest installment of a long-running legal battle between the airline and OTA concerning screen scraping of fares.
Appearing before the District of Delaware US Federal District Court in Wilmington on January 13, 2023, lawyers from two legal firms, Holland and Knight, and Offit Kurman representing Ryanair rejected Booking.com's claims that Ryanair "publicly disparaged” the OTA, sent “accusatory and disparaging emails” to customers who purchased Ryanair tickets via the site, and said Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary made “false and misleading” statements about the OTA.
Ryanair originally sued Booking.com and its subsidiaries Agoda, Priceline, and Kayak in 2020 over screen scraping, a practice whereby an OTA accesses an airline's website, extracting availability and fare data, and sells a ticket via its own website. Ryanair's terms and conditions ban this practice. Ryanair sells tickets at or below cost and generally generates a profit by selling ancillary services. OTA ticket sales deprive it of the opportunity to generate this additional revenue.
In 2022, Booking.com countersued Ryanair over alleged defamatory accusations and misrepresentations to Booking.com customers, which the OTA says damaged its brand. These latest court hearings are an attempt to have this countersuit dismissed. In their application to dismiss, the airline's legal representatives told Judge William C. Bryson that Booking.com's claims are "based on a limited set of communications purportedly sent by Ryanair to Booking.com customers or posted on Ryanair’s social media. They say Booking.com’s counterclaims are fatally flawed because the purported statements never identify Booking.com, instead stating truthfully that Ryanair does not authorise online travel agencies to sell Ryanair flights."
Ryanair's counsel argued the OTA had selectively chosen excerpts from communications to suggest they are false or disparaging when Booking.com is not mentioned by name. "Booking.com has therefore failed to sufficiently allege defamation,” the Ryanair filing notes. The defendants are due to file their answering brief and response by the end of January.
