Ryanair will add a price-comparison function to its website in October, but finance chief Neil Sorahan cautions that this does not mean the Irish budget airline is “in the business of being a travel agent”.
Sorahan says the “early indications” are that Ryanair will offer a universal display of airlines and their prices, but he adds that the Dublin-based carrier will not offer links to competitors’ websites in the event that their prices are lower.
“We are not in the business of being a travel agent. Clearly, if somebody – and it’s unlikely – has a lower fare than us… they will go to their website and find it themselves,” he says, adding: “We are so confident that we have the lowest fares that we are going to fare-compare on our website but, no, we are not going to be setting up shop as a travel agent.”
Other changes planned under the carrier’s three-year “Always getting better” customer-service campaign include an insurance opt-out from September, a new website design, and a fare holding option from October.
The airline is seeking to “get better personalisation on the app and mobile website, and indeed the desktop website, as we enhance that and… better target our customers”, adds Sorahan.