Ryanair Exposes Shocking Price Overcharges by Vola, eDreams, and Booking.com with Consumers Paying Up to Over Two Hundred Percent More for Reserved Seats and Bags

Published on March 11, 2025

Ryanair reveals shocking overcharges by OTAs like eDreams, Vola, and Booking.com, with markups of up to 220%, urging action to protect consumers from deceptive pricing.

Ryanair today (Tuesday, 11 March) unveiled the results of its latest March OTA Survey, revealing that several non-approved online travel agents (OTAs), including eDreams, Vola, and Booking.com, continue to exploit travelers by charging up to three times more than fares listed directly on Ryanair.com.

This month’s findings highlight Vola as the worst offender, charging €15.99 for a reserved seat that costs only €5.00 on Ryanair.com—a staggering 220% markup. Similarly, eDreams charged €23.00 for the same reserved seat, which Ryanair sells for just €8.00, representing a shocking 188% increase.

Ryanair also discovered that Booking.com is overcharging travelers by as much as 40% for reserved seats on other airlines, even though booking directly on those airline websites proves significantly cheaper.

Examples of OTA Overcharges Revealed in Ryanair’s Survey

Ryanair Demands Protection for Consumers from Overcharging OTAs

Ryanair continues urging authorities to shield travelers from non-transparent pricing practices imposed by OTAs such as eDreams and Booking.com. Despite repeated warnings, Spain’s Consumer Affairs Minister has failed to take any concrete action to protect Spanish consumers from these excessive OTA markups.

The airline is calling on the Spanish Consumer Affairs Ministry to crack down on deceptive OTA practices by banning these hidden overcharges and mandating transparent pricing standards—a practice already adopted by Ryanair’s Approved OTA partners.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“Our March survey shows yet again that non-approved OTAs such as eDreams, Vola and Booking.com continue to overcharge consumers by a shameful up to 220% over Ryanair prices. They continue to inflate prices of air fares and reserved seating which are much cheaper for consumers when booked directly on airline websites. This latest evidence of consumer overcharging by non-approved OTAs is unacceptable. 

EU Govts and consumer authorities, including Spain’s Consumer Affairs Minister, Bustinduy, should now take urgent action to outlaw these hidden OTA overcharges and protect consumers from this OTA overcharging.”