DUBLIN (Reuters) – A U.S. court has ruled that Booking.com violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by accessing part of Ryanair’s website without permission, court documents showed.
The Irish airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, said the ruling would help end unauthorised manipulation of passenger data by booking sites.
Booking.com said it was disappointed with the decisions and planned to appeal.
In recent years, Ryanair has launched a series of legal actions against third-party booking platforms that resell its tickets without permission.
She says the companies, which use screen-mining software to find and resell tickets, add extra fees and make it harder for the airline to contact passengers.
A Delaware District Court jury unanimously found that Booking.com violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and that it induced a third party to access parts of Ryanair’s website without authorization “with intent to defraud,” according to the ruling issued late Thursday.
The court also dismissed counterclaims by Booking.com, which accused Ryanair of defaming the booking platform and that the airline was engaging in unfair competition.
“We believe that allowing customers to access and compare prices across the travel industry enhances consumer choice,” a Booking.com spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Ryanair, which has in recent months signed deals with a number of online travel agents to resell tickets on an approved basis, said it hoped the ruling would set a precedent.
“We expect this ruling to put an end to online piracy and the overcharging of airlines, other travel companies and consumers through the illegal activities of online travel agency pirates,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Reilly said in a statement.
He said he hoped the ruling would force consumer protection agencies across Britain and Europe to take action to ban illegal screen scraping and overcharging consumers for flights and ancillary services.