Ryanair set to shut down Web site

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Ryanair, Europe's biggest no-frills airline, said Wednesday it will shut down its Web site and call centers for three days later this month to upgrade its reservations system.

The shutdown, which will stretch from late Friday, Feb. 22 to late Monday, Feb. 25, will leave Ryanair passengers unable to book flights or make changes to existing itineraries until the system is back up.

Ryanair said the move was necessary to make technical changes while it converts to a new reservations system, but Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) indicated the shutdown was due to the airline's failure to meet a deadline to list all fares on its Web site.

A Ryanair spokesman said the airline was not forced by the OFT to shut down its system as a punitive measure. He said the Web site already complies with OFT requirements and simply requires an updated system.

The OFT said it took action last year against 13 airlines that did not include "fixed non-optional costs" in prices on their Web sites. It said 11 airlines amended their sites to make those fees clear, but Ryanair and Ireland's Aer Lingus asked for extra time.

Aer Lingus met the new deadline, the OFT said, but Ryanair did not.

"We are very disappointed that Ryanair has not met the agreed date of 31 January for changing its Web site," the OFT said in a statement.

"Ryanair has informed us that it experienced serious technical difficulties during testing that would have prevented its booking system from functioning had the changes gone ahead by 31 January. However, Ryanair has informed us that the changeover to its new system will be on 22 February."

The Ryanair spokesman, who asked that his name not be used, said the airline's site already lists all included prices.

Between 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) on Feb. 22 and 11 p.m. (6 p.m. ET) on Feb. 25, Ryanair passengers will be unable to make new reservations, make any flight changes, or even review existing reservations either online or by phone, Ryanair said.

Free online check-in will also be unavailable, so during the shutdown Ryanair said it will waive the fee normally charged to passengers for airport check-in.

Though Ryanair takes more than 90 percent of its bookings through its Web site, the spokesman said there would be no loss in revenue because the airline had already taken "significant advance bookings."

Flights during the three-day shutdown will be unaffected, he said.

Dublin, Ireland-based Ryanair was one of the first airlines to compete with major carriers by offering low fares. It remains one of the world's biggest low-cost airlines, flying to 25 European countries plus Morocco with an expected 52 million passengers this year. E-mail to a friend