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."

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

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. The company didn't have much to say about 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."