Ryanair rejects OFT comments regarding its implementation of charges

Ryanair rejected (04-Jan-2010) comments made the UK Office of Fair Trading's CEO, John Fingleton, criticising the LCC's implementation of charges. Mr Fingleton, in an interview with The Independent, described Ryanair's charging practices as "puerile", adding the carrier is operating within "the narrow letter of the law". Ryanair denied the criticisms, describing the accusations as "disappointing and wrong". [more - Ryanair]

OFT: "Ryanair has this funny game where they have found some low frequency payment mechanism and say: 'Well, because you can pay with that [the charge is optional]. It's almost like taunting consumers and pointing out: 'Oh well, we know this is completely outside the spirit of the law, but we think it's within the narrow letter of the law'…On some level, it's quite puerile, it's almost childish. And you sort of smile, and newspapers like yours or BBC Radio 4's Moneybox do a good job in pointing this out to consumers. This is just playing silly games at the margins of it all and we might or might not go running after something like that," John Fingleton, CEO. Source: The Independent, 04-Jan-2010.

Ryanair: "Ryanair fails to understand why it was singled out for these inaccurate criticisms by Mr Fingleton, when its charges policies are copied by high fare UK airlines. Perhaps Mr Fingleton's comments are designed to cover over the OFT's failure to take any action against BA's unfair fuel surcharges, the BAA's monopoly pricing or the continuing mis-selling by screenscraper websites across the UK and Europe, who routinely add hidden mark-ups to Ryanair's low fares," Company Statement, 04-Jan-2010.