18.08.05
Thomson travel agents were branded 'unscrupulous' by Ryanair - the budget airline accused them of loading charges onto Ryanair tickets, and not informing customers.
Ryanair says that tickets purchased through one branch of Thompson, the UK's leading travel agency chain, were up to 85% higher than the price quoted on the Ryanair website. Others were 70% and 69% more expensive, the airline said.
A Thomson agent in Barrow in Furness quoted £53.26 for a Liverpool airport - Dublin flight. The flight would have cost £28.85 on its website - a price hike of 85%.
Sinead Finn, the Irish airline's head of sales and marketing, said: 'Ryanair offers the lowest fares in Europe by selling direct on www.ryanair.com. However, some unscrupulous Thomson travel agents are fleecing passengers by selling our flights at vastly inflated prices, up to a whopping 85% more than the web fare available.'
'Consumers are entitled to be told if a handling charge is being levied on their ticket. Unfortunately many Thomson travel agents are not informing their customers and instead are ripping them off.'
'Rip-off Britain is alive and well so don't let travel agents take you for a ride,' she added.
It is not known how many Ryanair seats are sold by travel agents, most of whom charge handling fees, but it is thought to run into the tens of thousands. Ryanair urged consumers to avoid agents and go online to book direct in order to avoid the additional charges. Thompson refused to comment.
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