Low-Cost Carriers: What are the strategic options for Ryanair?

"Last week, Ryanair released its results for the first and second quarters of 2009. Its profits surged by 80% to 387 million Euros thanks to a 42% fall in fuel costs. Despite these good results, Ryanair is careful for 2010, expecting a loss for the third and fourth quarters. We believe that Ryanair, along with other low-cost carriers, is at a turning point in its strategy and its business model. In fact, the same successful business model of Ryanair now appears to narrow its room for maneuver."

Ryanair jet blows tiles off house roof

"An 82-year-old German woman living near Hamburg-Luebeck airport got a shock this week when a Ryanair plane coming in to land sent several roof tiles crashing into her garden, police said Friday. "The aircraft flew over and the elderly lady, the owner of the house, was in the garden at the time clearing up branches when the tiles came down," police spokeswoman Sonja Kurz told AFP. The local newspaper, the Luebecker Nachrichten, cited witnesses as saying that the Boeing plane flew much lower over Gross Groenau than normal as it approached the airport, which is 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Hamburg.
Source: Agence France Presse

Ryanair's growth plans risk disaster, warns rival

"EasyJet founder Stelios Haji- Ioannou, who thwarted management plans to boost capacity, said rival Ryanair's growth plans risk disaster. But Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary said it was EasyJet's strategy that was flawed. Dublin-based Ryanair needs to increase passenger numbers by 50pc over the next two-and-a-half years to fill its 200 aircraft and another 100 on order, said Mr Haji-Ioannou. Mr O'Leary said last month that he aimed to lift the total almost 30pc to 85 million in three years. 'I am looking forward to seeing how this do-or-die mission of Ryanair and Michael O'Leary will end up,' Mr Haji-Ioannou said in an interview in London yesterday. 'I believe that he will have a lot of grounded aircraft in the next few years.'"

High Cost of Low Cost for Flag Carriers

"Europe's flag carriers have long found low-cost airlines a nuisance. The recession made them a serious problem. Take Ryanair, which carried more passengers in Spain than Iberia for the first time in August. The Irish airline Monday announced an 80% jump in first-half profit on a 15% rise in traffic while the flag carriers are mired in red ink."

Ryanair’s real issues on Boeing’s Deal

"I have been talking on a forum these past days about the 200 aircraft deal between Ryanair and Boeing. Interesting comments and insights came out and I wanted to share them with you. You probably know that, among the reasons behind Ryanair’s successful expansion, there is the fact that O’Leary managed to get a very attractive deal with Boeing for its current fleet. When the market broke down after the 9/11 terrorist attack, Ryanair obtained a substantial discount for its 155 new aircrafts in 2002, taking full advantage of the downturn in airplane orders after the slump in air travel."

EasyJet’s Stelios Says Ryanair Growth Plan Is ‘Do-or-Die’ Folly

"EasyJet Plc founder Stelios Haji- Ioannou, who thwarted management plans to boost capacity, said rival Ryanair Holdings Plc is courting disaster if chief Michael O’Leary sticks with his growth strategy. Dublin-based Ryanair needs to increase passenger numbers by 50 percent over the next 2 1/2 years to fill its 200 aircraft and another 100 on order, said Stelios, who is known by his first name. O’Leary said Oct. 13 that he aims to lift the total almost 30 percent to 85 million in three years. “I am looking forward to seeing how this do-or-die mission of Ryanair and Michael O’Leary will end up,” Stelios said in an interview in London yesterday. “I believe that he will have a lot of grounded aircraft in the next few years.”"

Ryanair predicts Lingus rescue

"Budget airline Ryanair is a part owner of Aer Lingus with a stake of about 30 percent. At times it has shown interest in taking a controlling interest in the former Irish flag carrier. Whether it ever does or not, Ryanair might have to help keep Aer Lingus aloft as a party to a bailout. Michael Cawley, Ryanair's deputy chief executive, has indicated that his company's interest in Aer Lingus was 'waning by the day.' Ryanair, he said, was 'very unlikely' to make a bid. He told RTE, however, that a bailout of Aer Lingus was 'only a question of time.'"

Sparks fly over 'sexy' Ryanair calendar

"Ryanair was accused last night of a 'serious lack of imagination' after the airline insisted its 2010 cabin crew calendar was 'art'. The new calendar, featuring two Irish employees, is more risque than previous editions. The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) said the no-frills carrier was 'irredeemably old-fashioned' for using images of scantily clad women to raise funds for charity. But Ryanair accused the NWCI of not having 'a clue how young women empower themselves'."

If Ryanair Doesn’t Buy New Aircrafts Will It Still Attempt Another Takeover Of Aer Lingus?

"Today, After many votes, I decided to close my poll about Aer Lingus. you are 25% to think that Ryanair is finally going to buy Aer Lingus by the end of the year. 50% of you think that Ryanair won’t buy Aer Lingus, and 25% think that Ryanair will buy Aer Lingus later. Aer Lingus is still in a very difficult situation, last result showed its revenues down to 9,7%. An interesting fact is that long-haul passenger numbers had fallen by 13.2 per cent in the three months to September 30 while the Irish carrier’s short-haul network has been more robust and passenger numbers rose by 10 per cent in the third quarter. "

Air Scoop Report: Airports - The Best Way to Deal with Low-Cost Carriers

"The air transport deregulation has placed airports in a competitive environment. And the Low-Cost Carriers (LCC) offer made routes and secondary airports number to dramatically increase. The secondary airports are often willing to attract LCCs to develop the local economy. On that purpose, most of the times, they offer very favourable terms to airlines promising traffic to rise. Airports are supported by Regional Authorities who invest in infrastructures and subsidize airlines in a more or less hidden way. This strategy did not appear to be good for several Croatian, Spanish and French airports as they have been shortly left by Ryanair. Furthermore, when strategy appears to be winning, investment is often very expensive and difficult to make profitable despite passengers’ rush. And so, the only French Regions gave €400m to make Ryanair fly to their airports. The aim of this report is to warn airports’ managers at the time they would have to sign a contract with a LCC. Because, one airline cannot make alone fortune for an airport but it can surely lead it to bankruptcy."
Download the report: Airports - The Best Way to Deal with Low-Cost Carriers

Ryanair to close six routes to Basel, including from London Stansted Airport

"Budget airline Ryanair has today announced that it will close its six routes from December 2 after Basel Airport refused to lower its airport charges to reflect the lower fares being paid by passengers in the current recession. This move will result in the loss of 18 weekly Basel flights, 250,000 passengers per annum and up to 250 local jobs. Ryanair had offered Basel an additional 13 weekly flights and 200,000 new passengers which would have created 200 new jobs if the airport reduced its high charges. Basel rejected this offer and Ryanair's routes to/from Alicante, Cagliari, London (Stansted), Marseille, Porto and Stockholm (Skavsta) will cease from December 2. Passengers affected will be emailed directly by Ryanair and provided with a full refund."

Ryanair: Out of Boarder

"Ryanair passengers will soon be hammered with a EUR100 penalty fee if they don't print out their boarding cards, it was revealed yesterday. In an effort to reduce costs Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary plans to introduce the new charge to stop travellers turning up at check-in desks without boarding passes. All passengers are required to check in for Ryanair flights online and print their passes before arriving at the airport. Failure to do so at present results in a EUR40 penalty but this is set to increase to EUR100 in the near future. The Consumer Association of Ireland described the move as "outrageous". Chief executive Dermott Jewell said: "This is simply outrageous. This is not a consumer cost that can be avoided."
Source: Mirror

Ryanair denies any talks with Gov on tax

"Ryanair today said it would be impossible for it to have 'further discussions' with the Department of Transport (as claimed today by Tanaiste Mary Coughlan) on the E10 travel tax because no discussions have taken place between the Department of Transport and the airline. The Tanaiste this morning said on radio that the Government will be having further talks with Ryanair over the travel tax."
Source: Business and Finance Daily News Service

Ryanair practices to save costs cause a rebellion by pilots flying over Barajas

"A dozen commercial aircraft overflying the area Barajas assigned by the control tower. They hope to land because there is congestion at the airport. Suddenly, she breaks into the common frequency to all aircraft the voice of a Ryanair pilot: "Tower, I'm running low on fuel.”. Permission to land". And then the storm broke. According to the account held at The Digital Confidential witness the event, before the tower could meet the demand of the apparatus of Ryanair, was heard the voice of the commander of one of the Iberia aircraft that were waiting, circling to 14,000 feet provided."
Download this interesting letter from pilots to their Minister

Spanish Air Sector Unions Complain of Unfair Competition from Ryanair

"The Spanish airline sector unions have united to denounce what they call unfair competition from low-cost Irish airline Ryanair, "tolerated, encouraged and subsidized by the government," according to a statement of the Union Crew of Flight Attendants Airlines, Stavla. The union, along with the drivers, Sepla, and maintenance technicians, Asetma addition to USO and other unions, have asked the Spanish Administration to force Ryanair to operate under the same conditions as other companies for avoid discrimination and therefore a breach of Article 14 of the Constitution."

UK low-cost carrier Bmibaby slashes routes, reduces number of aircraft

"Bmibaby, the low-cost carrier of Heathrow-based BMI, announced November 4 that it will dramatically cut routes, aircraft and personnel due to the prolonged recession in the air industry. BMI Baby, which recently cut routes between Manchester, England and Alicante and Malaga in Spain, did not specify which routes would be axed. The company will cut its total number of aircraft by nearly 30 percent in 2010, as well as a significant number of staff."

Air Berlin fare yields fell by 1 pct in October

"Air Berlin , Germany's second-biggest airline, said profitability per seat sold eased in October, which is the first decline this year. Revenue per seat kilometre fell by 1 percent to 6.19 euro cents, the company said on Thursday. The load factor, a measure of capacity utilisation, widened by 0.2 percentage points to 80.2 percent."
Source: Reuters News

Bmibaby scraps Malaga and Alicante flights from Manchester

"Poor ticket sales have triggered bmibaby’s decision to pull out of two Spanish routes from Manchester Airport this winter. The budget airline claims the strength of the euro is forcing tourists to holiday in destinations outside of the Eurozone. It will end services from Manchester to Malaga on November 14, with the Alicante service stopping the day after. Bmibaby said there were no plans to reintroduce the services, both of which have been operating for six years, next summer."

Ryanair SWOT Analysis: Expects 20% yield decline and losses in 2H2010 on continued fare reductions

"Ryanair stated it expects average fares will decline by up to 20% in 3Q2010 and 4Q2010, which would result in losses in both quarters (and hence for 2H2010). However, Europe’s largest LCC has maintained its full-year guidance of a net profit at the lower end of the EUR200-300 million range (an improvement from an after-tax profit of EUR105 million in FY2009), stating it would be “substantially profitable, at a time when many of our competitors are losing money, consolidating or going bust”. It also is continuing with its quest to double traffic and profits between 2007 and 2012."

Germanwings and Ryanair Spout

"Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann recently predicted Ryanair's demise, saying, 'I think the Ryanair model is coming to an end. The more Ryanair flies to a destination, the more losses taken by the airport and the local tax payers wont stand for that.' Ryanair responded by saying, 'We only reply to airlines that have a significant market share. Germanwings is the fly on the arse of the airline industry, so we're not going to bother.'"

Ryanair looking for almost no-charges deal at Shannon, says airport chief

"Shannon airport chief Martin Moroney yesterday revealed Ryanair is seeking an almost free ‘no charges’ deal at Shannon, similar to the one it has in the Canary Islands. Mr Moroney said if Ryanair presses ahead with its threatened reduction of flights at Shannon, passenger numbers could slump from 2.7 million this year to 2 million in 2010."

Vueling Airlines cancels routes to Casablanca (CMN),Paris (PAR),Tenerife (TCI),Ibiza (IBZ),Nice (NCE),Venice (VCE)

"Cancelled:Casablanca, Mohamed V (CMN) to Paris, All s (PAR)
Cancelled:Tenerife, Metropolitan Area (TCI) to Ibiza (IBZ)
Cancelled:Tenerife, Metropolitan Area (TCI) to Nice, Cote d'Azur International (NCE)
Cancelled:Tenerife, Metropolitan Area (TCI) to Venice, Marco Polo (VCE)"

Bosses Battle For Top UK Airline Crown

"Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is predicting that his company could steal the top spot from British Airways within months. Ryanair carries more people across Europe than any other airline and Mr O'Leary has made a deal with Boeing to buy an extra 200 planes. But standing in the way of victory is easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who began a war of words by criticising his rival's growth strategy plans, saying they "will end in tears for his shareholders". (...) Sir Stelios said: "My suggestion now, as he will not find enough passengers to fill his 100 additional aircraft, is to buy a piece of the Mojave Desert in California and start an aviation museum for his old aircraft."

Planemakers should call Ryanair's bluff

"Ryanair is an odd brand. While for many the no-frills operator, one of the biggest at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, is a byword for hidden charges and poor customer service, it is undeniably a successful business. The fast-growing Irish carrier is now the biggest short-haul operator in Europe, trumping national flag carriers like BA and Air France."
Source: Daily Post (Liverpool)

Ryanair's bumpy landing

"Budget airline Ryanair warned yesterday of losses - despite falling fuel costs boosting profits in the last six months. The firm posted pre-tax profits of £376.6 million in the six months to September, compared with £94.4million last year. They said the results were "heavily distorted" by a 42 per cent drop in fuel costs, which masked a 17 per cent decline in average fares. And a further 20 per cent fall over the rest of the year will result in losses for the last two quarters."
Source: Scottish Daily Record

O'Leary threat to clip airline's wings is probably bluff as growth is in his DNA

"Ryanair boss says if Boeing won’t cut prices, he will scrap expansion plan and pay dividend instead. Standing still is not his style, however as one analyst remarked yesterday, if Ryanair were a private company they’d be breaking out the champagne at the thought of making a profit of €200-300 million in the current financial year."
Source: Business Today

Ryanair demands cost reductions from Bratislava Airport

"Ryanair, the Irish low-cost airline has confirmed that it plans to build a base in Bratislava with three aircraft and 20 new routes but that the plan will be completed only if the Bratislava Airport reduces airport fees by at least 70 percent, daily SME reported. “70-percent is acceptable, however, 100-percent is ideal,” said Henrike Schmidt, Ryanair's marketing manager for Slovakia. Ryanair will not go further in negotiations below 70 percent, she added."

Ryanair warns of losses

"Budget airline Ryanair said that falling fuel costs had boosted profits but added that cut-price fares would result in losses for the rest of the year. The firm said pre-tax profits were 419.4 million euros (£376.6 million) in the six months to September 30, from 105.2 million euros (£94.4 million) last year, but said the results were 'heavily distorted' by a 42% drop in fuel costs. Ryanair said this masked a 17% decline in average fares and warned that prices would fall 20% over the rest of the year, resulting in losses for the last two quarters."

Ryanair Tumbles as Fare Cuts May Cut Into Earnings

"Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest discount airline, tumbled in Dublin trading after the company said it would cut average ticket prices further to lure passengers amid the recession. The carrier is forecasting that yields, a measure of ticket prices, will fall as much as 20 percent in the winter season, after average ticket prices declined 17 percent in the first half of the year to 39 euros ($58). The stock dropped as much as 9.2 percent. “Ryanair is going to be a winner in the long term, but clearly this is going to be a difficult winter,” said Wyn Ellis, a London-based analyst at Numis Securities Ltd., who has a “hold” recommendation on the stock."

Plane problems could ground Ryanair's expansion plans

"Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said today he may ditch his ambitious expansion plans if he cannot agree a deal with Boeing by Christmas - and hand the money saved to shareholders instead. Ryanair, Europe's largest short-haul airline, is stuck in discussions with the American manufacturer for a total order of 200 planes for delivery in the next few years. Some of the planes are meant to support new routes, while others are to replace part of the existing fleet. Michael Cawley, the low-cost carrier's deputy chairman, said 15 of 48 planes due for delivery next year could be cancelled or postponed, which would hit passenger growth. If Ryanair bought all planned aircraft next year, passenger traffic could grow by between 8 and 9 million. Today's warning, which has implications for travellers who rely on Ryanair's services, came after the company posted an 80% jump in profits."

Ryanair may reverse growth strategy as fares fall

"Ryanair said on Monday it might throttle back on the expansion strategy which brought growth even in the depth of air travel crisis, warning that an 80-percent rise in first-half profit was driven by lower oil prices and masked falling fares. Fare pressure cut the Irish carrier's revenue by 2 percent, which along with disappointment over no upward revisions to full-year profit forecast pushed shares in Europe's biggest budget airline as much as 5 percent lower. 'Extreme fare pressure will remain the key short-term theme over the winter,' NCB analyst Neil Glynn said."

Ryanair threatens strategy U-turn amid Boeing talks

"Ryanair, the Irish budget airline, said today that it was ready to tear up its growth strategy and return more cash to shareholders if it fails to agree a deal to buy new planes from Boeing before the end of the year. Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, said that he had made 'little progress in our discussions with Boeing for 200 new aircraft for delivery between 2012 and 2016”. He said: “We won't continue these discussions indefinitely and have signalled to Boeing that if they are not completed before the year end, then Ryanair will end its relationship with Boeing and confirm a series of order deferrals and cancellations." "

Competitors skeptical about efficiency of Ryanair’s business model

"In an interview in Travelmole yesterday, Thomas Winkelmann, Chief Executive of German low-cost carrier Germanwings, predicted the failure of Ryanair, mainly because “it does not attract the corporate market“. Two facts were pointed out by Thomas Winkelmann. First, he said that “travellers are acutely aware of the whole cost of a trip” and then argued as Stelios that, “travellers do not want to fly from nowhere to nowhere, having to pay for car hire on top of the flight. That deters both leisure and business travellers.”"

DialAFlight Report Downturn in Public Faith Towards Budget Airlines

"The online reputation of budget airlines has nose-dived in recent months as disquiet grows among customers about misleading charges. Research into the best online brands reveals Virgin as the best carrier, with budget companies such as Ryanair performing appallingly. The latest Kaizo Advocacy Index - a twice yearly assessment of online reputations - saw Virgin Atlantic as the sole airline to emerge with a positive score (67%), the fourth consecutive time they have claimed the top spot. Budget airlines fared badly with Easyjet dropping 32 percentage points to -23% and Ryanair falling 46 points to -62%."

Ex-Ryanair pilot loses constructive dismissal case

"A former Ryanair pilot who claimed he was harassed and denied promotion when he refused to sign a bond repudiating industrial regulations complaints against the airline has lost his claim for constructive dismissal. An Employment Appeals Tribunal has found that there was no breach by Ryanair of pilot Joe Peard’s contract of employment “express, implied or otherwise”."
Source: Irish Times

Ryanair makes Bratislava airport its EE centre

"Budget airline Ryanair has announced that it will make Bratislava its centre for operations in Eastern Europe (EE) instead of Vienna. Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said today (Thurs) in Vienna the move would significantly increase the number of passengers at Bratislava airport and give it 20 new routes. He added that the three aircraft the company, Europe’s largest discount airline, would base at Bratislava airport would result in an additional 560,000 passengers there annually, raising the yearly total to around 2.2 million. The airport has suffered a 23 per cent decline in passengers this year compared to 2008 - much of which has been put down to the bankruptcy of discount airline SkyEurope. O’Leary said he had demanded low fees and costs from Bratislava airport in return for making it Ryanair’s Eastern European centre. He said: "Spanish airports have lowered their fees for the Canary Islands by 100 per cent. Vienna International Airport (VIA) should also do that. 100 per cent is a nice, round number."
Source: Austria Today

Germanwings boss: Ryanair won't last

"The chief executive of German low-cost carrier Germanwings Thomas Winkelmann has predicted the demise of Ryanair because it does not attract the corporate market. The airline boss told Travelmole that airports also found that the more Ryanair flies to an airport, the higher the losses it has to sustain. He added that tax payers in destinations should not have to bear the brunt of Ryanair’s business model. He said: “I think the Ryanair model is coming to an end. The more Ryanair flies to a destination, the more losses taken by the airport and the local tax payers wont stand for that.”"

No-frills carriers win market share in Finland

"No-frills carriers have raised their market share in Finland to nine per cent, the Finnish Civil Aviation Administration (Finavia) said in a statement Thursday. Finavia said its figure referred to this year but did not mention the year-ago market share. It added that the number of passengers flown by the four no-frills carriers - Air Berlin, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air - to and from Finland had risen by 25 per cent year-on-year."

Increase in most airline surcharges

"Nearly 65 percent of the world’s airlines are expected to increase their extra fees by up to 20 percent next year, according to a study released this month by revenue specialist firm Collinson Latitude. The rise of extra fees for things that have been historically complimentary, such as stowed luggage, check-in, food and more, seems to have made its way around the world, perhaps permanently. Ryanair, Europe’s busiest airline and a low-budget carrier, raised its baggage fee by 50 percent for one checked bag last month."

Is that it, Michael?

"Every industry has its legend, that mythical person that will surface sooner or later in any conversation. For aviation – especially for its low cost branch – Michael is just that. There is a general agreement of sorts that he’s the bad boy but at the same time everyone adores him and would like to be just the same when they grow up – just as clever."

Ryanair threatens to pull Boeing orders in price spat

"Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest discount airline, said it will cancel existing aircraft orders with Boeing Co. if the U.S. manufacturer doesn't cut the asking price for a new batch of planes. Negotiations with Boeing over a contract for as many as 200 short-haul aircraft are progressing 'slowly,' Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary said today at a briefing in Hamburg. Ryanair may respond by shelving the requirement and scrapping and deferring some current contracts, he said."

Ryanair pulls a fast one on Shannon Airport

"Ryanair announced last week its plan to pull 75 per cent of its aircrafts out of Shannon Airport. Until here, nothing surprising, Ryanair, as easyJet at Luton Airport, is trying to cut costs. Putting pressure on airports is one option, and they’re playing their cards right. But, once more, let’s dig further. I wrote a post about “O’Leary’s new political career”, when he decided to promote the Lisbon Treaty with a “Yes vote” campaign. At that time, which was about only one month ago, Micheal O’Leary spoke at Kerry Airport during a whistle-stop tour of Dublin, Knock and Kerry airports with the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Antonio Tajani, as they campaigned for a Yes vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum. At this meeting he said that as far as he was concerned, only Cork, Shannon, Dublin, Knock and Kerry airports had viable futures. So here we are, one month later, with a Shannon Airport deemed no longer viable. funny twist of events!"

Ryanair threatens Shannon Airport with extinction

"According to the mayor of Clare, the town in Ireland where Shannon Airport stands, if Ryanair reduces its operations there by 75 percent as threatened, the airport will become a ghost town. Ryanair aggressively battles what it considers unfair airport charges in its goal to provide low-cost service. When they can’t get the airports to lower costs, they move operations to another more cooperative field. This drama playing out in western Ireland over the implementation of a $15 tax on departures from Shannon. Ryanair has asked the airport to remove the tax by February or they will move their business elsewhere."

Ryanair may freeze pay for three years

"Ryanair staff could be facing pay freezes for the next three years as the low cost carrier tries to keep a lid on costs as oil prices surge once more to over $80 a barrel. Actuarial valuations by the airline envisage there will be no pay increases until 2012, although there may be rises of 3% after that. The company's filings have been analysed by the firm Companyreporting.com and the analysis found that in Ireland 3% pay increases beyond 2012 could be envisaged and 4% for the UK. The difference between the two figures presented a "lack of clarity" said the firm. Ryanair declined to comment on its likely pay policy in the period ahead."
Source: Sunday Tribune

Air Berlin's German Expansion Worries Lufthansa

"Deutsche Lufthansa is alarmed over rival Air Berlin PLC's domestic expansion plans in Germany, the Financial Times Deutschland reported Tuesday, citing Lufthansa's in-house publication. Lufthansa calls Air Berlin's plans a "frontal attack," according to the newspaper. Competition on the key Hamburg-Frankfurt route will eat into Lufthansa's core business and will negatively affect its returns on this high-volume route, the newspaper reported."
Source: Dow Jones International News

Ryanair want public money for new routes

"Ryanair is calling on the Scottish Government to further subsidise air travel. Ryanair deputy chief executive Michael Cawley has met with Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney today to ask for the Air Route Development Fund (ARDF) to be reintroduced, or for a similar fund to be set up. The ARDF, which provides financial support to airlines setting up new flight routes, and was scrapped by the SNP in 2007 as part of an agreement with the Scottish Greens to switch the funding to public transport instead. The Green Party called the move a, 'shameless bid for a bung from the taxpayer'. 'Any reversal of that decision would put the Scottish Government in the pocket of Ryanair and would make a mockery of Scotland's recently-agreed climate change targets,' said Scottish Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie."

Ryanair pilots in Revenue probe

"Brookfield, a contract pilot supplier, has told 100 Ryanair pilots put on protective notice two weeks ago that they could face "potentially very serious ramifications" following a Revenue probe. New contracts issued to the pilots last week require them to use one of four accountancy firms selected by Brookfield. Each firm will charge pilots 3% of their gross income for their services, adding up to millions in fees to be paid annually."
Source: The Sunday Times

More airlines plan to impose extra charges

"Almost two thirds of the world's airlines plan to increase the number of charges levied on passengers, according to new research. A study carried out by Collinson Latitude, an ancillary revenue specialist, found that 65 per cent of airlines expect to increase revenue from extra charges, such as baggage and check-in fees, by up to a fifth over the next year. "Ancillary revenue is a key growth area for airlines,'' said Janet Titterton of Collinson Latitude."
Source: The Daily Telegraph

Company Watch - Ryanair

"Budget airline Ryanair airline is usually better known for trying to stop customers from doing things, like sitting down or going to the toilet, but if you're addicted to the little white stick, there's good news. It's actually gone the other way on the decades old restriction by letting you smoke on its flights as long as they're e-ciggies. Off the back of a largescale customer survey, Ryanair is selling packets of smokeless cigarettes, which dispense nicotine without any toxic fumes, for €6 (GBP 5.40) a pop in a bid to calm down moody smokers desperate to light up and stop them from taking out their tension on flight attendants."
Source: AirGuideBusiness.com

Low-cost carriers: Ryanair & Airports: Pressure? Lobbying? Blackmailing?

"The winter season has definitely hit the market. Low-cost airlines have therefore increased their measures to cut costs, at any costs… Ryanair leads the market making lots of announcements to drag media attention, but also adds more pressure on airports. The relationship between Ryanair and airports is very interesting, as they both need each other for their business, but the balance of power clearly leans toward the carrier. Airports not only provide necessary cash to the airlines, they are also pawns in a lobby game played by Ryanair to reduce taxes from the government."