Ryanair: Ouch.

There are a lot of things to find pretty entertaining and arguably admirable about Ryanair. For example, when they issued a press release calling travel agents "deadwood" and "rip-off middlemen". We think it's pretty awesome that they've been so aggressive with their direct distribution strategy. But - It's not without risk.

The downside of their position becomes startingly clear with the news today that Ryanair will have to go without selling tickets for 73 hours later this month, while they migrate their booking platform in order to comply with new UK requirements regarding the proper presentation of fares, taxes, fees, etc. to consumers. We're pretty sure that 73 hours is more than 3 days, even across the Atlantic. That's almost 1% of their selling opportunity for a typical year. Fortunately, the migration falls during leap year!

We've heard some pretty astounding anecdotes of consumer deception in their marketing, so no real sympathy that they need to take this hit. However, there had to be some pretty dour planning meetings as the reality of the migration details became clear. No worries, they'll make it up with a 73 hour 1 Euro fare sale (some restrictions apply, fare not valid on most days ending in "y", seating additional, passengers subject to cabin door use fee).