Ryanair won't honor third-party tickets

Dublin, Ireland -- No-frills Irish airline Ryanair says it won't honor tickets purchased through third-party, cost-comparison Web sites.

The carrier issued a statement Friday saying that beginning Monday it won't honor tickets obtained through so-called "screenscraper" Web sites because consumers using them are being forced to pay an extra commission, going against the airline's own terms and conditions, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The newspaper said that around 1,000 such bookings made through third-party Web sites are made each day across Europe. Some consumer watchdog groups said they were surprised by Ryanair's moves and accused it of turning ticket-holders into "pawns" in the low-cost carrier's struggle against the Web sites.

Ryanair claims consumers using third-party Web sites are being forced to pay a commission on top of the fare, adding that the sites also slow its own Web booking operation.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.