Ryanair settles with Google and website it said had conned passengers
Ryanair has reached a legal settlement with Google and a travel website it accused of conning its passengers.
The Dublin-based carrier claimed eDreams was misleading customers into mistakenly believing they were booking flights direct with the carrier.
The airline said searches for Ryanair on Google could result in a paid advert for eDreams at the top of the page, which it described as a link to a "copycat website".
Ryanair began legal proceedings at the High Court in Ireland for alleged breach of consumer protection legislation and trademark infringement in 2015.
The three sides announced today that a resolution has been reached to close the case.
Details of the settlement remain confidential between the parties.
Ryanair chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said: "We welcome these measures, which will ensure transparency in relation to the online advertising of air fares to the benefit of our customers.
"We are pleased to have resolved this issue and we welcome these commitments to consumer-friendly advertising on Google's AdWords platform."
A Google spokesman said: "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Ryanair and eDreams. We have clear policies on the type of ads we allow on our platforms and we remain committed to enforcing them to best serve consumers."
Robert McNamara, head of UK and group external affairs at eDreams, said: "We are satisfied with this resolution.
"Our service is for the benefit of our customers and we hope this agreement will allow all those involved to focus on providing even better value and service to European travellers."
