Ryanair Partners With On the Beach After Legal Battle

Kate Duffy, Bloomberg News

Passenger aircraft, operated by Ryanair Holdings Plc, at London Stansted Airport, in Stansted, UK. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Ryanair Holdings Plc agreed to team up with online travel agent On the Beach Group Plc, bringing an end to a long-running spat between the two companies over market competition.

The deal, coming four months after Ryanair accused the aggregator of issuing a “hypocritical press release” calling for fair play, allows On the Beach to list Ryanair flights on its website without markups, according to a statement on Tuesday.

The move marks Ryanair’s fourth online travel-agency deal this year and follows partnerships with Loveholidays, Kiwi.com and TUI. All of the accords have been made under similar conditions that customers aren’t overcharged for fares.

On the Beach rose as much as 12% to 157.6 pence in London trading, the biggest gain since early Dec., 2023. Ryanair was little changed in Dublin.

On the Beach has been embroiled in a legal battle with Ryanair after the package holiday provider sued the airline in 2021, accusing it of anti-competitive behavior. Ryanair was ordered to pay more than £2 million ($2.5 million) last year to holiday service providers including On the Beach for flight cancellation refunds during the pandemic.

“This agreement enables both parties to move on from outstanding litigation and we look forward to working closely with our new partner,” Shaun Morton, the chief executive officer of On the Beach, said in the statement.

(Updates with share prices in fourth paragraph.)