Ryanair “too busy screwing” other airlines

No-frills carrier Ryanair has issued a statement saying it has no intention of buying a stake in Virgin Atlantic. The airline said it had received a number of calls from analysts and media linking it with a possible Virgin bid, and wanted to dismiss the rumours.

easyJet's tax avoidance plan

easyJet appears ready launch its new low-cost tour operation outside the UK to save millions in VAT. easyJet Holidays, a joint venture between easyJet and Lowcost Travel, is likely to be registered in Switzerland in a bid to avoid UK VAT under the Tour Operator’s Margin Scheme. Should this prove successful it could lead to other UK tour operators to register overseas.

Baby and toddler hospitalised after 5-hour flight delay

A 9 month old baby was hospitalised after being stuck on a Ryanair plane for over five hours. The child and its three year old sibling ended up in Temple Street Children's Hospital suffering from dehydration.

Low-cost business travel set to stay

Businesses will remain reluctant to upgrade staff to premium class, despite the improving global economic outlook, warns the UK air regulator Civil Aviation Authority.

Ryanair agrees five-year extension of its Barcelona Girona base

Ryanair has announced a five year extension if its low cost base at Barcelona Girona Airport, which will see it base up to 10 aircraft in Girona airport, at the launch of its summer 2011 schedule which will deliver 63 routes, including eight new routes to Cochstedt, Karlstad, Kristianstad, Plovdiv, Rzeszow, Szczecin, Skelleftea and Tallinn. Ryanair will deliver over 4m passengers p.a. to Girona, sustaining over 4,000 jobs in and around Girona Airport.

Chamber of Commerce 'will no longer run airport'

Is there any hope of reviving a commercial service from Angoulême airport? The faint chance that a new airline could be found to replace Ryanair has, I fear, got even fainter with the latest news from the Chamber of Commerce (CCI) at Angoulême.

Low-budget WizzAir is abandoning Zagreb-London connection

The airline WizzAir has been connecting Zagreb and London since March 27, 2006. with very cheap tickets of around 15 Euros. Now, it seems that this connection is retiring.

Ryanair plane evacuated in Kerry

A Ryanair plane was evacuated at Kerry airport this morning after smoke was detected in the cockpit. The incident happened at 9.15pm after Ryanair flight FR701 landed from London Stansted carring 160 passengers.

Ryanair stirs things up for local carriers in Barcelona

To say that Barcelona El Prat Airport's incumbent carriers Vueling and Spanair were a little concerned when they discovered that Ryanair was planning to set up a base at their home airport would be a gross understatement.

Ryanair rejects rumours about Virgin

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, today (17th Dec) dismissed rumours that it might bid for Virgin Atlantic. While Ryanair is interested in a low fares transatlantic service it has no intention of bidding for a high fares airline.

Decision on Ryanair probe put back until early January

Ryanair will have to wait until the new year for a decision from the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) as to whether it believes a probe into the carrier's near 30pc stake in Aer Lingus is necessary, amid competition concerns.

Ryanair cuts Berlin (56%), Bremen (29%) and Düsseldorf weeze (21%) from summer

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, 14^th Dec announced further cuts to its 2011 German operations which will suffer the loss of 3m passengers and 3,000 jobs at airports in Berlin, Bremen, Dusseldorf Weeze and Frankfurt Hahn due to the German Govt’s new €8 tourist tax.

Budget airlines' online customer experience falls short

Websites for Ryanair, EasyJet and BMI Baby are all failing to provide a strong brand message and adequate email and telephone contact, according to new research by eDigitalResearch.

Ryanair: 199-seat aircraft would hit capacity 'sweet spot'

Ryanair chief financial officer and deputy CEO Howard Millar would snap up a 199-seater aircraft because it hits a "sweet spot" in terms of staffing levels

Time for Ryanair to become more like Tesco, says O'Leary

Ryanair should be more like Tesco and won't always offer the cheapest fares to consumers, its chief executive Michael O'Leary has said.

Ryanair axes German routes over tax

Ryanair flights between Kerry in Ireland and Dusseldorf will also be stopped as part of reductions in its German operation next year. Flights connecting Liverpool to Bremen and Birmingham to Dusseldorf are among those to be scrapped as a result of Germany’s €8 tax on flights, which comes into effect at the start of January.

Ryanair to sue AENA over Spanish ATC strikes

Ryanair on Monday said it will take legal action against the Spanish air navigation and airports authority AENA, the aviation regulator AESA and the USCA traffic controllers union, over the unauthorized and unannounced workstoppageby air traffic controllers on Dec. 3 and 4, which forced the LCC to cancel over 500 flights

Flybe history: from Jersey to regional dominance

Flybe, the British low-cost airline, has priced its iniital public offering at 295p a share to raise £66m to buy out rivals and expand its fleet. It come a long way in 31 years. We chart its history.

Ryanair loses EU court appeal over file access in aid probes

Ryanair has lost a court appeal where it sought to overturn a decision by the European Union’s regulator not to provide information about probes of state aid to airports

Ryanair staff see Lithuania as undesirable location

An American Ryanair pilot resigned after being offered to live in Lithuania, which is known within the company as “Siberia.” The pilot was offered a spot in Lithuania’s second biggest city and Ryanair’s new base in the country Kaunas. The airline is relocating to the city and closing other bases in France.

Swedish passengers 'trapped on Ryanair flight for five hours'

The 70 passengers who boarded the aircraft in a snowy Gothenburg had hoped to fly to enjoy some winter sun in Sicily but instead found themselves imprisoned on the aircraft as ground staff battled, with little success, to de-ice the aircraft's wings.

Air Berlin To Challenge German Flight Departure Tax

Air Berlin will go to court to challenge the air departure tax that the German government plans to introduce on 1 January 2011 on the grounds that it violates the German tax

Ryanair insanity: Captain Morgan suggests mutiny, ordered to Lithuania

If I could make this stuff up, I’d become a novelist. Seriously. Captain Morgan Fischer, a pilot with Ryanair, decided to try out the type of stunt for which his boss, Michael O’Leary, is famous. And, he learned what happens when you tangle with a master media whore.

Liverpool Easyjet passengers stranded in Paris

Easyjet flight 7046 to Liverpool was cancelled on Friday after the plane due to take them was trapped in Spain by an unofficial air traffic control strike. Subsequent flights on Saturday and Sunday were also abandoned, leaving passengers angry and frustrated.

Air France, EasyJet Square Off in Discount Battle for Marseille

Air France-KLM Group’s plan to regain lost market share on short-haul routes may pitch Europe’s largest carrier into a battle with EasyJet Plc over the Mediterranean port city of Marseille. Air France may begin services from the second-largest French city to towns such as Marrakesh and Tangier in Morocco, which Ryanair Holdings Plc will quit in January, Bruno Matheu, Air France’s network chief, said in an interview.

Ryanair pilot 'sent to Siberia' after O'Leary jibe

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary. Photograph: Giuseppe Aresu/Rex Features A Ryanair pilot said in a letter to the FT that Michael O'Leary should be replaced with a cabin crew member. Photograph: Giuseppe Aresu/Rex Features

Ryanair calls on Government to scrap departure tax

Ryanair has again called for the Government to scrap the €10 departure tax. This follows reports at the weekend that the tax is to be reduced to €2 in tomorrow's Budget.

Ryanair plane evacuated because of smoke

An official says a Ryanair plane was evacuated after smoke was detected in the cockpit and cabin shortly after landing as planned at a southern Austrian airport.

Air Berlin Nov passenger volume up 8.4 pct

Air Berlin said it carried 8.4 percent more passengers in November than in the year-earlier period and filled up more seats on its planes.

Vueling to open base at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Vueling plans to open a base at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in April 2011. This was announced today by Alex Cruz, member of the Vueling Board of Directors, in the presence of representatives including Jos Nijhuis, President & CEO of Schiphol Group and Erik van der Burg, vice mayor of the city of Amsterdam.

Ryanair scents victory in Irish tax row

The airline has obtained Freedom of Information records from the Irish Department of Finance, which show that the Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against Ireland over the tax.

Ryanair to open new bases in the Canary Islands

The low-cost giant, Ryanair, announced yesterday (Dec 1, 2010) the opening of three new bases in the Canary Islands. The bases are as follows: Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Thereby Ryanair will bring the number of its Spanish bases to 11.

In Depth Analysis Ryanair Business Model

After a decade during which the airline went from underdog to top airline in the European skies its success can hardly be negated. Critics may protest its methods the fact remain that the airline’s low-cost/low-fares business model is likely to be as much as an inspiration for competitors as Southwest was for Ryanair in the beginning of the 1990’s. But the Irish airline’s business model may not be quite as well understood as that of its American counterpart. While it has always defended the idea that it has been able to drive down fares by putting into practice extremely thorough cost control measures, cutting down margins and maximizing volumes, it seems that Ryanair’s own words may not paint a complete picture of its business model.

Cream and sugar with your jet fuel? Plane water tanks mistakenly filled

According to daily Bild, a 21-year-old service company employee on Saturday thought he was filling the planes at Berlin's Schönefeld airport with water, not realising the 3,000-litre tank was contaminated with fuel.

Ryanair Surprised By 'Flight Tax Scrapping'

Budget flyer Ryanair has been taken by surprise at the news that the Irish Republic's Minister for Tourism is advocating scrapping the controversial €10 travel tax.

easyJet grows flights 13% this winter

easyJet recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of its first commercial flights (between London Luton and Glasgow) and also unveiled its latest annual financial results for the year ending 30 September 2010. But anna.aero is more interested in where this winter it will be allocating capacity flown by its fleet of now almost 200 aircraft. Our recent analysis of Ryanair’s winter capacity showed how the Irish carrier was ditching UK services in favour of Spanish growth while also cutting capacity significantly in Ireland and France.