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Google poised to shake up airline ticket biz, Ryanair CEO says

The discount airline CEO says Google's project "blows the competition out of the water."

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Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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Could Google's next project be to revolutionize the way people buy their airline tickets?

That's what Michael O'Leary, chief executive of discount airline Ryanair, said in an interview with the Independent.

O'Leary said he is working with Google on a plan to change how consumers buy their airline tickets. He also said the Internet giant is working on a price-comparison tool that will blow other comparison sites "out of the water."

Ryanair will share its pricing through Google, and the airline is working to be part of the launch, he said.

He added the project could go live as soon as March.

Google, by the way, already has a booking system called Flight Search, which launched in the UK in March 2013, of which O'Leary is likely speaking about, accoeding to the company. A Google representative didn't comment on anything new in the works.

"We already have relationships with a number of airlines across the world but are always looking to improve the results by signing deals with more," according to a Google representative. "We have nothing new to announce at this stage."

Updated at 8:24 a.m. PT: to include a comment from Google.