Ryanair drops Expedia content from website

Ryanair has carried out its threat to terminate its hotel supplier contract with Expedia Inc.

A statement from Expedia confirmed that Ryanair "turned off Expedia hotel bookings, effective November 14".

It added: "We strongly believe that Ryanair does not have the right to terminate our agreement, and we will continue to vigorously assert Expedia's position in the pending legal proceedings and pursue our claims against Ryanair."

The row between the world's largest online travel agent and arguably the biggest travel web site in Europe dates back to mid-October, when Ryanair announced that it had given "30 days notice to Expedia that its hotel contract will end [on November 8] following Expedia's failure to honour payment terms."

Expedia said at the time that it had "complied in every respect with the terms of our agreement with Ryanair, including all payment terms, and that Ryanair has failed to honor its obligations under that agreement, " a position reaffirmed by today's statement.

Ryanair did not comment.

The dispute continues to be subject to legal proceedings, with a trial timetabled for November next year in London if the disagreement is not settled.

The 'hotels' tab on the homepage, which previously linked through to a Ryanair-branded WWTE page,  has been replaced by 'Hostel World', Ryanair's hostel, B&B and guest house partner.

Hostel World signed up as Ryanair's partner for five years in August 2007; the deal with Expedia was also for five years and was signed in March 2007.

Elsewhere on the home page, the "hotel deals" box links through to irelandhotels.com, the official site of the Irish Hoteliers Association and not affiliated to Expedia.