Against this background, there is ongoing litigation between one airline in particular and a number of online travel agencies which raises some intriguing questions around where the balance of power lies in the industry; and who bears responsibility to consumers when things go wrong. The Business Model In illustrating the nature of the relationship between airlines and online travel agents, it is convenient to use as an example a case currently proceeding through the English courts: On the Beach v Ryanair [2022] EWHC 861 (Ch). The parties’ business models are set out in that case as follows: On the Beach (‘OTB’) ofers services via the web and apps for mobile devices. These enable consumers to book short-haul package holidays online. Although it has an international segment which ofers holidays from websites in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, the vast majority (99.7%) of holidays are booked via its UK-facing website and app, and almost all of these depart from the UK. It operates as a ‘one-stop shop’ where customers can select various components of their holiday, such as fights and hotels, from diferent providers, and buy them in a single transaction. That includes Ryanair fights. For most fights, including Ryanair fights, OTB makes the booking (or attempts to do so) as agent on the customer's behalf. In providing its services it is directly competing with Ryanair both in providing fight booking services to customers and in ofering to arrange ancillary travel services such as hotel accommodation and car hire. Ryanair, so OTB says, does not welcome such competition, but wants to own the customer relationship itself, monopolise the market for booking its fights, and reduce competition and choice for ancillary
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