Ryanair chooses Ireland's CarTrawler as Hertz replacement
By Sarah Young
LONDON (Reuters) - Low-cost airline Ryanair launched a car hire partnership with online brokerage CarTrawler on Tuesday, replacing a long-running deal with Hertz as part of its plan to take on online travel companies.
Ryanair will in October launch a website offering its 100 million annual passengers flight price comparisons, cheap hotel rooms and restaurant discounts.
The deal with CarTrawler, an Ireland-based private equity-backed technology platform, includes a promise to find the lowest rental prices, potentially removing the need for customers to use rival car hire websites.
Ryanair invited bids from car hire groups in July after Hertz scrapped the pair's long-standing arrangement. Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said 16 car hire companies and rental brokerages had submitted proposals.
"We have moved to a broker as a solution for providing our car hire needs," he told reporters. "I think it's a recognition of the fact that no one car hire company has the capacity or the availability at any airport to handle the volume of Ryanair's traffic."
Ryanair has a history of shaking up Europe's travel market, having grown its low-fares model to become the continent's largest airline by passenger numbers.
Fresh from an image makeover last year which has helped drive passenger and profit growth, Ryanair in July said it would turn up the heat on rivals by cutting prices this winter.
Through CarTrawler, Ryanair will be connected to 1,500 car rental agents in over 30,000 airport and city locations.
Its previous car hire tie-up ended when Hertz pulled out because of a dispute over Ryanair's indirect ticket sales. The airline subsequently said it would launch legal proceedings against Hertz.
Shares in Ryanair traded up 4.4 percent at 11.87 euros by 1137 GMT. The Irish market was up 4.1 percent <0#.ISEQ>.
(Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Jason Neely and David Holmes)
