Ryanair nears deal with TUI in new blow to online ‘pirates’

Ryanair Holdings Plc is nearing a deal to provide flights for package holiday giant TUI AG, according to people familiar with the matter, striking a fresh blow in its battle against online travel agents. A Ryanair partnership with the German travel company could be announced as soon as Thursday, one of the people said, asking not to be named before a deal is final. The talks with TUI follow an agreement Ryanair reached in January with online travel firm Loveholidays, under the condition that no mark-ups were allowed on the Irish discounter’s flights, the person said. A spokesperson for TUI, which draws more customers from the UK and Germany than any other markets, declined to comment. Ryanair, the third most-active carrier in both countries, also declined to comment. A deal would give travelers another way to bypass online agents and arrange holidays on Ryanair flights. The low-cost carrier’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, has branded sites such as Booking.com and Lastminute.com as “pirates,” and called on regulators in UK and the European Union to halt their practice of adding fees for services such as changes to a Ryanair itinerary. The online aggregators act as middlemen arranging for flights, hotels, car rentals and other travel services. They have accused Ryanair, Europe’s largest discount airline, of abusing its market dominance by disrupting their services. In December, many of the sites unexpectedly dropped Ryanair flights from their listings.<br/>