The travel operator Kiwi.com has not been slow to react to the threat that Ryanair launched last week that it would not accept passengers who had obtained their ticket through this website.
The
online
agency
has assured that the Irish airline has not been able to comply with its threat and has not denied boarding to any passenger because the trips contracted through its page are completely legal, sources from the firm informed this newspaper
.
Of course, Kiwi.com has recommended to all customers who take a ticket through its website that they proceed to print the original Ryanair boarding pass from their website instead of downloading it on their mobile.
The firm, founded in the Czech Republic and specialized in flight search, thus responds to the accusation of the Irish airline that Kiwi.com issued its own boarding passes, which it described as "false".
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“We can confirm that since Ryanair made its announcement [August 18], Kiwi.com has closely monitored bookings and no passengers have been denied boarding. The company has contacted customers who had flights scheduled between 24 and 48 hours after the news to assure them that their tickets were valid and that they had the original Ryanair boarding pass available in the 'Manage my reservation' section. from Kiwi.com, ready to download and print, ”a company spokeswoman told EL PAÍS.
It insisted that passengers can print the original airline boarding pass provided by Kiwi.com. "Due to current threats from Ryanair related to the Kiwi.com mobile boarding pass, it is currently recommended to print and not use the mobile boarding pass," they added.
Kiwi.com denies that there is any "fake boarding pass", as Ryanair claims, and points out that it meets all the requirements to ensure a safe trip for its customers, as it has done for years. In this sense, it clarifies that it provides passengers with the Ryanair boarding pass but with a template with the Kiwi.com brand. “All the information is the same, only the colors are different. Threatening not to let travelers on board is petty and an unethical practice for Ryanair to try to condition the user's choice ”, they point out.
For the Czech company, "the real reason for this action is that Kiwi.com often sells Ryanair tickets cheaper than the Irish company and this is not to their liking," they indicated.
“Ryanair's behavior is nothing short of cruel in putting profit before consumer choice.
We will do everything in our power to help our customers who are affected by this despicable behavior by Ryanair and which punishes travelers just because they don't like the competition, "he said.
The Czech company had a turnover of 1,300 million euros in 2019 and reserves 40,000 flight seats a day, which makes it one of the first websites specialized in air travel.
War on the agencies
Ryanair has intensified the war it maintains against online travel agencies, such as Opodo, Love Holidays and Edreams, which it accuses of charging abusive commissions for an unnecessary intermediation service, and with which it maintains a legal battle that has reached European bodies.
The airline has always urged its customers to only book directly on its website or mobile application and avoid buying through third parties who, according to the airline, are not authorized to sell company flights or issue boarding passes.