Ryanair and EasyJet - the world's fastest growing airlines??

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by samsonyuen

^Wouldn't it have trouble competing against the big Middle East airlines? Do they serve the regional market well now, and is it really expensive?

easyJet is not paying for this, so as long as the branding won't be hurt by this venture, there is no financial exposure with proceeding.

[hkskyline]

EasyJet rubbishes green tax idea
7 August 2006
Guardian Unlimited

The budget airline easyJet today dismissed as "lunacy" calls for higher aviation taxes as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The budget airline easyJet today dismissed as "lunacy" calls for higher aviation taxes as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Europe's second-largest budget carrier said a call by MPs on the environmental audit committee for higher air passenger duty was an example of "lazy thinking" and "just gives the chancellor Gordon Brown more money".

The MPs proposed taxing each flight, rather than the present arrangement of charging for each passenger, in order to encourage airlines to be more efficient in filling their services. The MPs suggested the tax could also be extended to cover air freight.

EasyJet insisted, however, that low-cost airlines were the solution, as they were equipped with the quietest and cleanest aircraft and avoided "inefficient hubbing" by flying directly to their destinations.

"The low-cost model is more efficient than the traditional model," said Toby Nicol, head of corporate communications at easyJet. "It's fine to have higher taxes for dirty cars, but we are one of the world's cleanest airlines. We're the Toyota Prius of our industry."

Mr Nicol said higher air taxes would take air travel back to 10 years ago when only the affluent could afford to travel.

"What government is going to tell people, is: 'Sorry you can't go to Spain, you've got to go to Margate,'" he said.

He also pointed out that easyJet favoured airline participation in the EU's emissions trading scheme, the EU's flagship project for limiting emissions that began last year.

Jeff Gazzard, a spokesman for the Green Skies Alliance spokesman, hit back at easyJet's response.

"It would be fairer if ticket prices reflected the environmental costs of flying - we estimate these at around 3.6p per kilometre," he said.

"What is lunacy is to keep pretending the earth is flat - easyJet'spassengers pay tax on the petrol in their cars as they drive to the airport, they ... pay VAT on their hotel bills booked through easyJet's website. There is therefore no reason why aviation fuel should continue to be untaxed and no VAT levied on air tickets."

With emissions from air traffic doubling since 1990 and projected to quintuple by 2050 as more people take advantage of cheap fares, the committee said it was time for the government to dampen demand by raising air passenger duty.

But public acceptance of higher aviation taxes may be higher than the airlines think. More than 70% of people would back higher aviation taxes if the money raised were spent on improving the environment, according to a Mori poll out today.

The survey found that nearly three quarters of those polled would support an increase of £20 on a flight to Paris and around £200 on a flight to Australia if the extra money went towards the environment.

A total of 68% of people said environmental protection should be given priority even at the risk of slowing down economic growth in the air travel industry. Only 29% opposed a policy of slowing down the growth in air travel.

Tim Johnson, director of the Aviation Environment Federation, which commissioned the survey, said: "The poll shows that politicians need not be afraid of raising taxes on aviation. As for the argument that higher air taxes hurt the poor, all taxation is regressive. But is Tony Blair going to cut taxes on beer and fags. No he's not."

. EasyJet reported a 11.3% rise in July passenger traffic and said its load factor - a measure of how well it is filling seats - for the month was 90.4%.

In its third-quarter trading update, easyJet repeated a forecast made last month for pre-tax profit growth for the full year of 40-50%.

In the quarter, easyJet started flying 19 new routes, adding more destinations outside the EU, including Croatia, Turkey, and Morocco.

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to June 2006:
EasyJet = 32,122,137
Ryanair = 36,884,608

Percentage increase in passengers since June 2005:
EasyJet = 13.5%
Ryanair = 23%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in June 2006:
EasyJet = 87.6%
Ryanair = 87%

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to July 2006:
EasyJet = 32,442,551
Ryanair = 37,626,423

Percentage increase in passengers since July 2005:
EasyJet = 12.9%
Ryanair = 23%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in July 2006:
EasyJet = 84.6%
Ryanair = 90%

[hkskyline]

Ryanair threatens to sue government unless airport demands met in seven days
By JANE WARDELL
18 August 2006

LONDON (AP) - Budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC threatened Friday to take legal action against the British government unless it meets three demands for relaxing airport security and improving staffing at overstretched airports within the next seven days.

The airline, which canceled scores of flights and suffered a 10 percent drop in weekly bookings because of the terror alert that raised security levels on Aug. 10, wants the government to return passenger search requirements to pre-alert levels.

It also wants the government to restore the hand luggage allowance for passengers leaving British airports and an assurance that military and police personnel would be released to help with airport security checks next time there is a major security alert.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said the carrier has sent a letter to Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander informing him of its demands.

The Transport Department said that the current security regime was necessary because of the level of the security threat, which remains at high, and is kept under constant review.

"We have no intention of compromising security levels nor do we anticipate changing our requirements in the next seven days," it said.

The department added that the action taken last week was under the Aviation Security Act 1982, so Ryanair wouldn't be entitled to any compensation. Ryanair says that wasn't made clear and it intends to use the Transport Act 2000 for legal action if it goes ahead.

O'Leary declined to say how much compensation the airline would seek from the government, but said the alert had so far cost the carrier "a couple of million" euros in canceled flights and lost bookings.

He rejected analyst forecasts that Ryanair faced a euro10 million (US$12.8 million) hit, saying the short-term cost was likely to be "a couple of million euros" and the long-term impact would be immaterial.

"If the security procedures are returned to normal within another seven days, then Ryanair will not make any claim against the government," he added.

The government initially banned all hand luggage on flights out of Britain after it announced on Aug. 10 that it had thwarted a plan to explode as many as 10 trans-Atlantic flights. It has since eased that ban, but some restrictions remain.

In another blow Friday, the GMB Union said Swissport baggage handlers and check-in staff plan to strike during the end of August holiday weekend at Stansted airport. Swissport provides services to Ryanair and easyJet PLC and some charter airlines operating at Stansted -- representing about 80 percent of the passenger traffic at Britain's third-busiest airport.

O'Leary was particularly critical of the fact that passengers may now carry a large briefcase, but not a small wheeled case, which he claimed was just 20 percent larger than the allowed briefcase.

The issue is a problem for Ryanair because the carrier began charging customers in January for each bag they checked as part of a plan to get passengers to take only what they could carry.

The airline temporarily waived its euro2.50 (US$3.20) fee for each carryon bag that unexpectedly had to be checked, but has since reintroduced it. O'Leary said Monday that the airline had no plans to end the policy.

Virgin Atlantic, which is jointly owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group Ltd. and Singapore Airlines Ltd., said it was asking the British government to pay for airport security in Britain, although it is not considering suing the government.

Paul Charles, a spokesman for the airline, said the government already pays for transport police to patrol Britain's railways and therefore it should also pay for airport security.

Currently, the bill for security is taken by the airport operators and airlines, and some of the cost is likely passed on to passengers.

[hkskyline]

Ryanair to begin flights to Morocco in first foray to Africa
29 August 2006

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Ryanair, the biggest no-frills airline in Europe, is going to Morocco, starting in October.

Ryanair's blue and gold planes will touch down starting Oct. 25 in the Moroccan cities of Fez, Marrakech and Oujda, the airline confirmed Tuesday.

The Moroccan services -- three to four times weekly to and from London's Luton Airport; Hahn Airport north of Frankfurt, Germany, and the southern French city of Marseille -- will be the Irish airline's first foray into Africa.

Ryanair originally announced its plans to open a new Marseille hub -- and, through it, services to Fez, Marrakech and Oujda -- on May 10. Two weeks later, Ryanair formally signed an agreement with the Moroccan government permitting the airline to develop up to 20 routes over five years linking the country to European airports.

[hkskyline]

Ryanair August loadings 91 pct, offers free seats
By Kevin Smith

DUBLIN, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Europe's biggest budget airline, Ryanair , said on Monday its load factor, a measure of how well it is filling seats, was 91 percent of capacity in August, and that it carried a record 4 million passengers in the month.

Ryanair said a 23 percent rise in its traffic in August from 3.3 million in the same month last year meant it was the first airline to carry more than 4 million international passengers in a single month.

Its load factor was unchanged from August 2005.

Ryanair separately announced three new routes out of Dublin -- to Malta, Stockholm and the Canary Islands -- and plans to give away 4 million free seats on its 371 European routes.

At a Dublin news conference later, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said the seven-day free seat sale, which does not include airport and government taxes, would help "recapture" bookings lost in August due a security alert surrounding an alleged bomb plot that sparked chaos at British airports.

Bookings had been off around 10 percent in the week following the scare, O'Leary told reporters.

"They were back up again to normal by the following Thursday but it still means there were the guts of 50,000-60,000 bookings we dropped over that period compared to normal," he said.

"Today's seat sale is a response to that and trying to drive those bookings now into September."

He said the lost bookings would not show up in the September traffic figures because of the free seat sale but the effect would be seen in yields -- how much an airline receives per seat -- in the September-November period.

"But we've already accounted for that. We've been very conservative in our predictions on average fares through the back half of the year," he added.

O'Leary said the airline, which has hedged its fuel requirements to the end of 2006 at $74 a barrel, was keeping an eye on the market for further opportunities.

"We are continuing to look at opportunities to hedge in the first quarter of next year and would be happy to do so at anything under $75 a barrel," he said.

"We'll keep hedging but at the moment we can only hedge about six months forward. If you try to get nine or 12 months forward the market simply arbitrages it away."

The airline's 3 million pound ($5.7 million) compensation claim against the British government for business lost in August due to stepped-up airport security was proceeding, he said.

"We filed court papers last week, they were submitted to the Department of Transport and they were filed with the court in London this morning."

The UK government has said Ryanair has no grounds to seek compensation.

Asked whether he was confident of winning the action O'Leary said: "If you look at Ryanair's record on legal actions I am anything but confident ... but let the courts decide."

Ryanair shares were up 1.32 percent at 7.70 euros as of 1159 GMT.

(Additional reporting by Jason Neely in London)

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to July 2006:
EasyJet = 32,442,551
Ryanair = 37,626,423

Percentage increase in passengers since July 2005:
EasyJet = 12.9%
Ryanair = 23%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in July 2006:
EasyJet = 84.6%
Ryanair = 90%

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to August 2006:
EasyJet = 32,685,363
Ryanair = 38,371,772

Percentage increase in passengers since August 2005:
EasyJet = 12.1%
Ryanair = 23%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in August 2006:
EasyJet = 89.2%
Ryanair = 91%

[hkskyline]

EasyJet Says Terror Plot Cost It $7.6M
7 September 2006

LONDON (AP) - Strict new security regulations imposed following the arrest of alleged terrorist plotters in August cost easyJet PLC about 4 million pounds, or around $7.6 million, the budget airline said Thursday.

The carrier also said passenger traffic rose 8.4 percent compared with August 2005, and its load factor, or percentage of available seats filled, went up from 88.4 percent to 89.2 percent.

It said it had canceled 469 flights because of the security alert.

Still, easyJet reaffirmed its full fiscal-year guidance for pretax profit growth of 40 percent to 50 percent. In the year ended Sept. 30, it posted an 11 percent rise in pretax profit to 68 million pounds ($128.5 million).

[hkskyline]

Third of Spain's visitors flew low-cost in August

MADRID, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The number of international passengers arriving in Spain with low-cost airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair during August jumped 13.2 percent from last year, government figures showed on Friday.

Spain's crowded no-frills airline market accounted for nearly a third of flights into the country during the peak holiday month.

The figures showed 1.8 million visitors came to Spain in August in flights operated by low-cost airlines -- 30.2 percent of all international passengers.

Britain's easyJet brought the most passengers, followed by Ireland's Ryanair and Germany's Air Berlin . Unlisted Spanish airline Vueling, a low-cost start-up that began flying in July 2004, was ranked fifth.

The majority of low-cost flights, 84.7 percent, originated in the UK, the data showed.

Malaga airport, on the Costa del Sol on Spain's south coast which is within striking distance of popular resorts like Marbella and Torremolinos, was the most popular destination for low-cost flights during the month.

Spain is becoming one of the main battlegrounds for low-cost carriers in Europe.

EasyJet said in August it was opening its first base in the country at the newly-expanded Barajas airport in Madrid and planned to start domestic Spanish flights.

Spanish flag-carrier Iberia has led the launch of a new low-cost airline to fight the short-haul competition on its own turf. Clickair will start flying from its base in Barcelona this year.

[hkskyline]

Ryanair orders new Boeing planes, hikes profits forecast

DUBLIN, Sept 29, 2006 (AFP) - Ryanair, Europe's biggest no-frills airline, said Friday that it had ordered 32 fuel efficient Boeing 737-800 planes at a cost of 2.25 billion dollars (1.78 billion euros) at catalogue price.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the Dublin-based carrier added that it expected its net profit for the year ending March 2007 to rise 11 percent to about 335 million euros (424 million dollars), compared with a previous guidance of an increase of between five and ten percent.

"Based on our aircraft delivery programme, our new routes and bases, we anticipate that passenger growth will be slightly higher at 22 percent (previously 20 percent) to 42.5 million for the full year," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary added in the statement.

Ryanair said deliveries of the new planes, which were options converted into firm orders, would begin in September 2008.

The new planes bring the total number of Ryanair firm orders for Boeing 737-800s to 281.

Ryanair noted that the single-aisle planes "ensure maximum fuel efficiency", reducing fuel burn per seat by 45 percent and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by half. The airline claimed also that the new order would create more than 1,500 jobs at Ryanair's 17 bases across Europe.

"These 32 next generation 737-800 aircraft are due for delivery between September 2008 and June 2009 and will facilitate double digit annual growth from 42 million passengers this year to 84 million passengers in 2012," Ryanair said in its statement.

Despite hiking its profits forecast, the airline remains cautious.

Earlier this week Ryanair announced it had hedged its fuel costs for the first three months of 2007, at a rate equivalent to 73 dollars per barrel -- which is about 10 dollars above current prices.

In another major announcement, Ryanair said Thursday that it would launch 17 new routes from Barcelona Girona airport, beginning next March.

The 17 new routes would lead to one million more passengers travelling on Ryanair each year, it claimed.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, Ryanair offered to build a low-cost second terminal at Dublin Airport at a cost of 250 million euros.

Ryanair opposes the Dublin Airport Authority's own plans for Terminal 2, citing excessive costs.

[hkskyline]

Ryanair eyes top spot on Polish market by 2008

KRAKOW, Poland, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Europe's largest budget airline, Ryanair , said on Wednesday it plans to overtake national carrier LOT [LOT.UL] as Poland's leading airline within two years, targeting passenger numbers of four million in 2008. With a population of 38 million, Poland is central Europe's biggest market and industry group IATA has estimated it would be among the world's fastest growing airline markets over the next four years.

"Our strategy is to overtake LOT and become number one in Poland in 2008, meaning we would carry four million passengers in and out of the country then," Ryanair sales and marketing executive for central Europe Tomasz Kulakowski told reporters.

The Irish-based carrier plans to open new routes in 2007 that will almost double its passengers numbers on Polish connections to around three million in 2007, from 1.5-1.6 million this year.

Budget airline traffic to and from Poland has grown sharply due to the large number of Poles working in western Europe, but strong competition has driven prices down and forced rivals to cut down the number of connections they run.

With its more traditional business model, LOT has struggled to deal with the influx of budget carriers including Ryanair, Wizz Air and SkyEurope . Its passenger numbers rose just 1.7 percent last year.

Kulakowski said Ryanair would announce the site for a new central and eastern European hub in spring next year, adding three Polish cities are among the locations being considered.

[Monkey]

^ Ryanair has already become the largest airline by total passenger numbers in Britain - well ahead of BA - and they are of course number one in Ireland too. I dare say they will be largest airline in Italy and Spain before long. Indeed they may be there already. Michael O Leary's plan for world domination continues apace. A takeover of Aer Lingus would be interesting as it would be the first time Ryanair had moved into long-haul and the first time it operated aircraft other than the Boeing 737 series. Admittedly all of this would be kept under the Aer Lingus brand. From the BBC:


Aer Lingus rejects Ryanair offer
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5408780.stm



Ryanair says the bid is a "unique opportunity"


Irish airline Aer Lingus has rejected a 1.48bn euro (£1bn; $1.9bn) takeover offer from budget rival Ryanair.

The board of Aer Lingus said the bid "significantly undervalues the group's businesses and attractive long term growth potential".

Proceedings in the Irish parliament, the Dail, were suspended earlier in the day as politicians argued the issue.

A merged group would have a 78% share of the London-Dublin route, raising concerns over competition issues.

Analysts have said the competition issues could be overcome if some routes were shed, but added that Ryanair would probably have to raise its bid significantly.


Government stake

Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary said the move was a "unique opportunity" to form a "strong Irish airline", carrying more than 50 million passengers each year.

If the bid was successful, he said the plan was to continue to operate the two airlines separately and compete on the 17 routes which both use.

The Irish government, which owns 28.3% of Aer Lingus, said it would not sell its shares.

Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would be "more than happy" for the government to retain its stake.

Transport minister Martin Cullen was due to answer special questions on the takeover approach in the Dail on Thursday afternoon.

Morning proceedings had been halted after Taoiseach Bertie Ahern refused opposition requests for a debate on the subject.

He said the government was committed to competition in the industry, but that the deal would need regulatory clearance from either the Irish authorities or the European Commission.

Earlier this week, Aer Lingus shares were floated on the stock market in London and Dublin. Shares began trading at 2.20 euros each, valuing the firm at 1.13bn euros.


Global competitor

Ryanair has bought a 16% stake in Aer Lingus and is offering 2.80 euros per share for the remaining shares.

News of the takeover approach pushed Aer Lingus shares up 15%, though Ryanair shares fell 1%.


AER LINGUS FACTS
- Low-cost airline focussing on passenger transport
- Fleet of 35 aircraft
- 11 routes from Ireland to the UK
- 57 routes from Ireland to mainland Europe
- Long-haul flights to US and UAE


The flotation followed a decision by the Irish government to sell much of its 85.1% share in the company. Workers now have a 9.85% stake.

If accepted, the Irish Government would get more than 500m euros from the sale and Aer Lingus employees would gain 200m euros, Ryanair said.


Shedding routes

The second largest union at Aer Lingus, Impact, is opposing the proposed takeover saying a stand-alone Aer Lingus was "in the best interests of the company, the country, passengers and staff".

"There are clearly significant competition issues involved in the proposed takeover, which would create a near-monopoly on passenger air travel in and out of Ireland with obvious adverse implications for passengers and society," a spokesman added.


RYANAIR FACTS
- Fleet of 107 aircraft
- Orders for a further 281 Boeing 737-800s
- 372 routes
- 38.9 million passengers in the year to September 2006


Ryanair said that if the deal went through Aer Lingus would be able to cut the price of its short-haul fares and its fuel surcharge.

It also said it would be able to improve Aer Lingus' long-haul service and its cargo division.

The deal could get clearance by competition regulators, but some routes may have to be shed, said Exane BNP Paribas analyst Nick van den Brul.

"There would almost certainly be a competition investigation by the EU but it doesn't look insurmountable," he said.

[hkskyline]

Britain's easyJet raises profit forecast after strong passenger growth
6 October 2006

LONDON (AP) - Budget airline easyJet raised its full year profit forecast on Friday on the back of increased passenger numbers and higher ticket prices.

EasyJet, Europe's second largest low-cost airline behind Ryanair Holdings PLC, now expects pretax profit for the year to Sept. 30, 2006 to be "slightly ahead" of its previous guidance of growth of 40 to 50 percent. The airline made a pretax profit of 82.6 million pounds last year.

EasyJet said its revenue for the year to Sept. 30 increased 20.7 percent to 1.62 billion pounds. Passenger numbers over the full year rose 12 percent to 32.95 million and revenue per seat rose 7.8 percent.

Low-cost airlines now have 24 percent share of the European market, up from 5 percent in 2001, according to the Official Airline Guide.

EasyJet Chief Executive Officer Andrew Harrison has added planes and routes from bases including Lisbon and Milan Malpensa since his appointment in December.

Rival Ryanair, which on Thursday announced a euro1.48 billion (US$1.88 billion) hostile takeover bid for Aer Lingus PLC, has also raised its full year profit forecast after opening several new routes.

EasyJet said that it carried 3 million passengers in September, an increase of 9.8 percent on the same month last year.

"September revenue was slightly ahead of expectations marking an encouraging end to easyJet's financial year," the company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Load factor, a measure of how full planes are, was 86.5, an increase of 0.1 percentage points on September last year.

In the previous fiscal year, easyJet reported a 3.7 percent rise in annual net profit to 42.6 million pounds on revenue of 1.3 billion pounds.

Shares in the carrier rose 0.75 percent to 501.75 pence on the London Stock Exchange. The airline's full year results will be announced Nov. 14.

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to August 2006:
EasyJet = 32,685,363
Ryanair = 38,371,772

Percentage increase in passengers since August 2005:
EasyJet = 12.1%
Ryanair = 23%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in August 2006:
EasyJet = 89.2%
Ryanair = 91%

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to September 2006:
EasyJet = 32,953,287
Ryanair = 38,885,384

Percentage increase in passengers since September 2005:
EasyJet = 11.5%
Ryanair = 17%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in September 2006:
EasyJet = 84.8%
Ryanair = 86%

[hkskyline]

EU official says Ireland wants meeting over Ryanair bid for Aer Lingus
13 October 2006

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The Irish government is seeking talks with European Union antitrust authorities to discuss Ryanair Holdings PLC's surprise takeover bid for Aer Lingus Group PLC, officials said Friday.

Aer Lingus, its employees and the Irish government rejected Ryanair's euro1.48 billion (US$1.86 billion) offer for the carrier last week.

"We have been contacted by the Irish government with a view to set up a meeting next week," said EU spokesman Jonathan Todd.

He said it was not unusual for contacts to take place before a bid is notified and said it was up to Ryanair whether to bring the case before the EU or the Irish competition authorities.

Ryanair's bid is conditional on it gaining 50.1 percent of Aer Lingus. It currently holds 19.2 percent after buying up shares last week.

Pilots for Aer Lingus revealed Friday that they had bought more shares in the carrier, increasing their stake slightly to 2.18 percent. The Irish Airline Pilots Pension Group has been increasing its holding in small increments since Ryanair launched its bid.

The pilots have declined to comment on the purchases, but analysts said the move could be part of a creeping equity grab designed to block Ryanair's takeover.

The Irish government sold most of its holding in the previously state-owned carrier, but still holds a 28 percent stake in Aer Lingus. It has pledged to retain a minimum 25.1 percent stake -- the minimum required to block any attempt by a majority owner to have the company de-listed from stock markets.

The current government stake, combined with the pilots' holdings and the 12 percent owned by employee share ownership trusts, gives government and staff just over 42 percent of the carrier.

Opponents to the takeover claim it will wipe out competition, drive up prices and lead to job cuts. Labor leaders are also concerned that Ryanair does not recognize union rights, insisting instead of individual staff contracts.

Analysts said that Ryanair was unlikely to succeed without raising its offer price. They believe the discount carrier, which has rapidly expanded across Europe but never mounted such an ambitious takeover bid before, certainly could afford to raise its offer, because it has cash reserves exceeding euro2 billion (US$2.6 billion).

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Jesus I never knew Ryanair had so much money in the bank, still its only half what my company has and we havent made a profit for 5 years. Anyway I digress Ive got mixed feelings about this, I would love to see Ryanair expand long-haul/full service but the thing that is really holding Aer Lingus and Ireland back is the stupid bilatteral agreement that all long-haul flights have to be shared between Dublin (20m px/y) and Shannon (3m px). Its not what airlines or passengers want. If this is abolished watch Dublin shoot up to 30m + passengers a year as dozens of new routes are established. Most American airlines are desperate to get into Dublin. Theres also a new terminal on the way (images on the Dublin Airport Authority website), Ryanair though have really f**ked around a lot of Irish airports, for example in Cork they started 5 daily flights to Gatwick to drive Easyjet away and then when Easyjet cancelled their 3 flights went back to 1 flight a day to try and force people to use Shannon (who virtually pay them to land there).

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Anyway this isnt why I came here, just booked my 14th and 15th flights of the year (and yes I do feel guilty about the environment but I dont drive and work from home most days).... Off from East Midlands to Rome with Ryanair, thankfully hand luggage restrictions have been lifted so wont have to pay £14 to check my luggage in. Got it for £40 inc tax for November (about £16 without), flying to Cork next month too for 1p each way with Ryanair from Liverpool.

[johnnypd]

i've been left very unimpressed by my experience with easyjet. i flew to paris with them in the summer and when i was over there my return flight was cancelled. they left an answerphone message on my HOME phone (well im not going to be able to access that if im in france you fuckheads). thankfully my mum got the message on the morning she was leaving for italy otherwise i would only have found out when i went to check my details online the day before my scheduled return. so i had to get a flight back for one day later and pay for an extra night's hotel, leaving me financially constrained for the rest of my trip. easyjet emailed me after offering me a £25 voucher to be used against an easyjet booking. i thought that was pathetic so i emailed easyjet to complain about this, and was never given a reply!

as they say, you get what you pay for...

[Irish Blood English Heart]

theyve been cancelling a huge number of flights recently. People in Newcastle say its become impossible to rely on them, its to do with staff shortages I believe.

[hkskyline]

Irish tycoon buys 2.1 percent stake in Aer Lingus, opposes takeover bid by Ryanair
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
17 October 2006

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Irish tycoon Denis O'Brien said Tuesday he has bought a 2.1 percent stake in the recently privatized airline Aer Lingus Group PLC and wants to help block a hostile takeover bid by rival carrier Ryanair.

The intervention by O'Brien, who has made billions developing mobile-phone companies from Ireland to the Caribbean, represented the first confirmed effort by a third party to oppose the takeover bid launched Oct. 5 by Ryanair Holdings PLC.

The surprise attack by Ryanair, Europe's fastest-growing airline, came just a week after the government sold its majority stake in Aer Lingus, one of the world's few profitable state-owned airlines.

The Irish government, Aer Lingus management and labor unions all oppose the Ryanair offer of 2.80 euros ($3.55) a share, which is a 27 percent premium over Aer Lingus' Sept. 27 IPO price of 2.20 euros ($2.79).

Since the bid was announced, Aer Lingus shares have remained well above the Ryanair offer price -- they closed Tuesday at 2.87 euros ($3.65) -- in expectation that Ryanair would raise its offer.

O'Brien said in a statement he had purchased more than 32 million euros ($40 million) of Aer Lingus shares because he didn't want Ryanair to strangle airline competition in Ireland. He said his move was designed to bolster existing efforts by investment trusts representing Aer Lingus employees to build up a blocking share.

Ryanair holds more than 19 percent of the shares but requires more than 50 percent to mount a successful takeover. It is legally barred from increasing its holding while the share price remains above its euros 2.80 offer.

The government still holds more than 28 percent of the shares and has ruled out the prospect of selling to Ryanair. A long-established share ownership trust for the entire Aer Lingus work force, representing more than 3,300 people, owns more than 11 percent of shares. A new trust representing Aer Lingus pilots had built up a 2.24 percent stake as of Tuesday.

Analysts say this means a combination of anti-Ryanair investors -- the government, Aer Lingus employees and O'Brien -- could block a Ryanair takeover if they can acquire about 6 percent more of Aer Lingus shares.