Lm group wins historical court battle against Ryanair

lm group wins historical court battle against Ryanair

Chiasso, 9 May 2019 - Bravonext SA ("lastminute.com"), - a subsidiary of lm group (lastminute.com, volagratis.com, rumbo.es, weg.de, bravofly.com) - and a European leader in the online travel and leisure industry - announces today that the Court of Lugano has fully accepted its motion against Ryanair Ltd ("Ryanair"), confirming that lm group can lawfully continue to offer to all its customers the possibility to compare and reserve Ryanair tickets through the lm group websites (lastminute.com, volagratis.com, rumbo.es, weg.de, bravofly.com, and others).

The ruling states that lm group does not violate any intellectual property rights or any contractual obligation towards Ryanair in performing its online travel agency activities in respect of this airline flights.

As the activity of lm group is deemed totally legitimate, the Swiss Court has ordered Ryanair to pay CHF 140,000 in compensation.

The Court has also condemned Ryanair for unfair competition having declared in a press release dated 24 January 2008 that Bravonext illegally sells Ryanair's tickets through its portals.

Alessandra Reda, Chief Legal Officer of lm group, comments: "lm group has already won against Ryanair in three other proceedings across Europe. This ruling reinforces our position and means lm group can continue to ensure customers get access to extensive flight offerings, both as a stand-alone product or as part of a package holiday".

Marco Corradino, CEO of lm group, comments: "This is a historic decision that's taken more than 10 years to arrive and will forever change the travel landscape in Europe. It confirmes that our service, which allows our customers to compare and book all flights from all airlines in the market, doesn't hurt any business. On the contrary, it encourages fair competition in the market and brings strong value to the customer,by offering a mix of unique travel solutions from several providers - something Ryanair and traditional airline companies can't offer".

Aboutlm group
lm group is among the worldwide leaders in the online travel industry and operates a portfolio of well-known brands such as lastminute.com, Volagratis, Rumbo, weg.de, Bravofly, Jetcost and Hotelscan. The Group's mission is to be the most relevant and inspiring travel company, committed to enriching the life of travellers. Every month, the Group touches 45 million users across all its websites and mobile apps (in 17 languages and 40 countries) who search for and book their travel and leisure experiences with us. More than 1,200 people enjoy working with us and contribute to providing our audience with a comprehensive and inspiring offering of travel related products and services. lastminute.com N.V. is a publicly traded company listed under the ticker symbol LMN on SIX Swiss Exchange.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. lastminute.com group undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Press Release (PDF)

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