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

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Ryanair flight from Rome to Paris forced to return twice

ROME, July 16 (AFP) - A flight from Rome to Paris operated by the low-cost operator Ryanair had to return twice Saturday to Rome's Ciampino airport because of problems with its landing gear, airport officials said.

The company's Boeing 737 first took off at 7:00 am (0500GMT) with 130 passengers on board but 10 minutes later the pilot reported a problem with the landing gear's hydraulic system and asked permission for an emergency landing back at the airport.

The plane landed without any problem and technical staff inspected it in a hangar.

It took off again at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) but the same problem occurred and the plane again returned to Ciampino.

Some passengers went to the airport police station to register complaints and about half refused to reboard the aircraft, which took off for a third time at about 3:30 pm (1330 GMT).

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Ryanair to fight Dublin terminal decision in court

DUBLIN, July 19 (Reuters) - Ryanair upped the stakes in a long running campaign against Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern on Tuesday, saying it would take the government to court over its plans for a second terminal at Dublin airport.

"Bertie Ahern's government is breaking EU competition rules by awarding the second terminal to the Dublin Airport Monopoly," Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said in a statement.

Ryanair, which placed newspaper adverts depicting Ahern as a tortoise and an "April Fool" during its campaign for an independent terminal, is unhappy with a decision that it will be built by the state-owned Dublin Airport Authority.

Transport Minister Martin Cullen said in May that, as part of his aviation action plan, there would be an open tender competition to select the terminal's operator but that has not been enough to satisfy Europe's largest low-fares airline.

"There are 13 other parties who could build the terminal cheaper, more efficiently and provide passengers with competition and choice," the head of Dublin-based Ryanair said, calling for an end to semi-state monopolies.

A spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) declined to comment on Ryanair's decision.

The airport operator has also been fending off criticism in recent months after delays due to a tightening of security in the wake of an inspection. It has increased staff levels to try to address the problem.

"The experience of passengers departing from and arriving at Dublin Airport is truly awful," O'Leary said. "Queues are getting longer, and overcrowding in the terminals is now the norm."

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Ryanair action over terminal adjourned
20 July 2005
Irish Times

A High Court action in which Ryanair is seeking to overturn the decision to award ownership of the planned second terminal at Dublin airport to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has been adjourned until October.

Ryanair is seeking declarations that the failure to consider independent ownership of Terminal 2 breaches the EU Treaty and parts of the Competition Act 2002. A further order is being sought to stop the conferring of ownership of Terminal 2 on the DAA.

Ryanair's proceedings are against the Taoiseach, the Minister for Transport, DAA, Ireland and the Attorney General. The action was mentioned before Mr Justice Liam McKechnie yesterday. He adjourned it to October 11th for mention. A date for the full hearing is unlikely to be set until the autumn.

Ryanair contends that it and Aer Lingus are the two biggest users of Dublin airport.

The DAA owns, operates and manages the existing terminal.

In August 2002, the then minister announced a decision to invite proposals for an independent terminal or terminals at Dublin airport. Advertisements invited expressions of interest and Ryanair submitted such an _expression of interest.

Ryanair claims the Taoiseach, in June 2004, entered an arrangement or agreement with the trade union movement, in particular Ictu, in relation to the imposition of union work practices and recognition on any party involved with or engaged in the construction, operation or administration of Terminal 2.

The agreement would allegedly involve the imposition of similar if not identical work practices to Terminal 2 as applied to the existing terminal.

It is claimed that the Taoiseach wrongfully and in breach of duty imposed the agreement on the transport minister in the knowledge that it would be a term of the involvement of DAA in Terminal 2. Alternatively, it is alleged the minister, in concert with the Taoiseach, imposed the agreement or intended to impose it upon any operator of Terminal 2.

The imposition of the agreement is anti-competitive and in breach of the provisions of the EU Treaty and in particular Articles 10, 82 and 86, and also a breach of the State Airports Act 2004, it is claimed.

A decision in May 2005 to award ownership of Terminal 2 to the DAA was taken without any proper, full or appropriate consideration as to the merits of private ownership as distinct from semi-state ownership, in the context of Competition Rules, Ryanair claims. It was also made without any independent, objective or proper assessment as to the competing merits of monopoly State ownership as distinct from a truly independent and separate terminal ownership and operation.

If Ryanair wishes to fly in or out of Dublin airport it has no choice other than to use Terminal 1 or, when open, Terminal 2, it pleads. Irrespective of which terminal Ryanair uses, DAA will impose a fee to cover its debts and the costs of what Ryanair alleges are "these inefficient work practices".

Ryanair says it is concerned the DAA will build "over-specified facilities" which will increase debts and airport charges, imposing additional costs on Ryanair and other airport users.

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Ryanair makes up 80pc of all Shannon flights
Tom McEnaney
23 July 2005
Irish Independent

RYANAIR now accounts for approximately four out of every five short-haul flights taking off or landing at Shannon Airport, according to an analysis by Goodbody Stockbrokers.

And according to Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, the airline is only just beginning.

He said Ryanair plans to double the number of passengers passing through Shannon from 2m today to 4m in two/three years' time.

Mr O'Leary said: "Traffic at Shannon is growing strongly. We're tied into a five-year deal with Shannon Airport which requires us to grow traffic year-on-year.

"But we are beating all of the projections set for us by the airport."

While this is good news for the airport, this growth has not come without cost to Ryanair.

According to Mr O'Leary, fares on the Shannon routes are "a little below our expectations".

He added, however, that the airline, which earlier this month announced new routes from Shannon to Bristol and the French city of Nantes, plans to add more routes from the airport.

He said: "I would be surprised if Shannon is not linked up to one or two new bases we plan to announce in Europe over the next 12 months."

Goodbody arrived at its figures for Ryanair's Shannon traffic by stripping out Aer Lingus transatlantic flights forced to land at Shannon because of the compulsory stopover.

That stopover is currently being renegotiated ahead of its abolition in coming years.

The stockbroker's note says: "From a thin service to London and Frankfurt just two years ago, Ryanair is today providing flights to fourteen destinations from Shannon Airport.

"We estimate there are now over 60,000 short-haul seats per week being provided at Shannon. Ryanair provides over 55pc of these.

"If you strip out the seats Aer Lingus supply on Dublin-Shannon (effectively the transatlantic flights hopping up and down), the Ryanair share is more like 80pc."

Mr Gill attributes the growth to the management of Shannon Airport, which is the process of establishing Shannon as an independent airport.

He said that Ryanair's success will pose a serious challEnge to other airlines operating from Shannon.

"Ryanair's competitors on short-haul (EU Jet, HLX, ThomsonFly, EasyJet, Aer Lingus, BA regional and FlyBe) out of Shannon will struggle in the face of such a massive step-change in services. They either get bigger or dwindle.

"EasyJet, in particular, must make a strategic decision around Cork, Shannon and Knock, where their February launches have encountered a huge Ryanair response at each airport."

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German setback as Ryanair eyes Pisa.
By KEVIN DONE
21 July 2005
Financial Times

Ryanair, Europe's leading low-cost carrier, is accelerating its expansion into the Italian market by establishing a base at Pisa.

The group already has bases at Rome Ciampino and at Milan Bergamo airports and is mounting an increasing challenge to Alitalia, the lossmaking Italian state owned carrier, on short-haul routes to and from Italy.

Its plans to establish a second base in Germany at Lubeck have run into legal problems as a local court has issued an interim judgment blocking plans to extend the runway at Lubeck airport.

Italy is already the second- most important source of originating traffic for Ryanair with a share of 13 per cent, behind only the UK at 41 per cent and ahead of Germany and Ireland, which each account for 11 per cent.

Ryanair has established the broadest presence across Europe of any airline, with four operating bases in the UK at London Stansted, London Luton, Glasgow Prestwick and Liverpool, two in Ireland at Dublin and Shannon, and further bases at Stockholm Skavsta, Frankfurt Hahn, Brussels Charleroi and Barcelona Girona.

In Germany, the airline is having to reconsider its expansion strategy, however.

It had announced that it would establish a base at Lubeck but the deal was conditional on its partner, Infratil, the New Zealand-listed infrastructure fund, being successful in its plan to acquire a 90 per cent stake in the airport and to win approval to extend the runway.

Infratil announced yesterday that the German court had declined to give planning approval for the project.

It said: "It is now unlikely that the conditional (take-over) agreement will be confirmed in its present terms."

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Tuesday August 2, 6:23 PM
Ryanair Posts Record First-Quarter Profit

AP - Budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC shrugged off the escalating cost of aviation fuel and posted a record first-quarter net profit Tuesday of 69.6 million euros ($84.8 million).

The rapidly growing European carrier said its profit rose 31 percent from the 53.1 million euros it earned in the previous April-June quarter, much higher than analysts' expectations of around 55 million euros ($67 million).

Revenue rose 35 percent to 404.6 million euros ($495.2 million), while the number of passengers rose 30 percent, roughly in line with Ryanair's expansion in routes over the past year.

The airline's average "yield," meaning the average cost of each ticket purchased, grew 3 percent.

Chief Executive Michael O'Leary warned that the Dublin-based airline, which operates its major hub at London's Stansted Airport, could be vulnerable to the effects of more terrorist attacks in the British capital. He said bookings did drop immediately following the four bombings on July 7 and attempted bombings on July 21, but quickly recovered.

"If there are no further such attacks in London, then we expect that our forward bookings will not be materially impacted," O'Leary said. "However, if there are further incidents in London, both bookings and yields could be adversely impacted."

Ryanair shares rose 1 euro cent (1 U.S. cent) to 6.81 euros ($8.34) in midmorning trade on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Deputy Chief Executive Michael Cawley said Ryanair was well positioned to keep wooing customers from rivals that have slapped extra charges on tickets because of the soaring cost of oil. Ryanair hasn't imposed a fuel surcharge.

Ryanair said its fuel costs rose 112 percent from first-quarter 2004, driving up overall costs 6 percent. Excluding fuel, the company's costs fell 9 percent.

The company has tried to combat the rising cost of oil by buying contracts months in advance. Cawley said Ryanair had secured most of its September fuel needs at $57 a barrel, compared with the current price around $62, but had no hedging contracts for the summer.

"July and August are a problem. We'll just have to take that on the chin," Cawley said. "But for the rest of the year we're hedged at what are now very good rates."

[DocentX]

Ryanair's faith in the Polish market rises along with passenger numbers

4th August 2005

Ryanair, the Irish low cost air carrier, is convinced of its success on the Polish market.

"Twelve months ago I was of an opinion that flying to Poland does not make sense. I have changed my mind - in 2006 we will fly one million passengers on routes to Poland, while over the next five years another five million," said Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's managing director.

In order to fulfill this target the company is already in negotiations with another six airports across the country. According to unofficial information these might include Katowice, Dęblin, Lublin-Niedźwiada, Szczytno or Białystok.

"Still this year we will introduce 2-3 new connections, later we will plan to increase the frequency of flights to two to three per day on the best routes, then we will enter new airports," added O'Leary, who went on to say that the company will not withdraw from Poland if the number of passengers drop. The company president added that the idea to form Ryanair's main base in Poland is still being considered. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 5) A.K.

http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&id=27821&

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to June 2005:
EasyJet = 28,291,843
Ryanair = 29,557,476

Percentage increase in passengers since June 2004:
EasyJet = 15.4%
Ryanair = 31%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in June 2005:
EasyJet = 85.6%
Ryanair = 87%

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to July 2005:
EasyJet = 28,725,408
Ryanair = 30,275,805

Percentage increase in passengers since July 2004:
EasyJet = 22.7%
Ryanair = 29%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in July 2005:
EasyJet = 85.2%
Ryanair = 90%



Ryanair's figures are absolutely amazing. 29% growth, 90% load factor, and an annual total punching through the 30 million barrier!! And EasyJet is never far behind....

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easyJet slumps as Icelandair plays down bid talk
BNP downgrades
12 August 2005

LONDON (AFX) - Shares in easyJet PLC slumped in morning deals as Icelandair played down speculation it is poised to make an imminent bid for the no-frills airline, dealers said.

Sentiment in the stock was further hit as Exane BNB downgraded its rating to 'neutral' from 'outperform' on valuation following 7 pct gains yesterday on the back of the takeover speculation.

Today's Financial Times quoted Hannes Smarason, chairman of FL Group, the parent company of Icelandair, as saying there is 'no statement coming' today as he denied his company was behind yesterday's heavy buying.

Furthermore, easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Iannou told the same newspaper that he was not a seller at current levels, saying the stock is undervalued.

In response, UBS reiterated its 'neutral' stance and said any FL bid would face issues, as easyJet articles of association prevent non-UK parties from holding more than 40 pct.

The broker also argued that launching a bid after FL-related speculation has bid up the price to an additional 150 pct above the initial 120 pence level would be 'an odd strategy'.

UBS believes there's at least 40 pence of bid speculation in the price, so if FL does not bid, it looks to be a longish way down from here.

Meanwhile, BNP said this year, the stock has been re-rated by the market due to the improvement in both unit revenues and unit costs and, more recently, as a result of bid speculation.

It advised investors to continue to hold the stock but buying in at this price is speculative.

In a note to clients, the broker said the outperformance of the share in the past week was triggered by Icelandair lifting its stake from 11.5 pct to 13 pct last Friday.

BNP said the takeover is looking increasingly likely given the increased stake and the developments at easyJet board level.

It added Stelios Haji-Iannou, who alongside his family hold 40.5 pct of the company, would be prepared to sell at the right price given his need to fund his other easyGroup ventures, such as easyCruise and easyHotel.

At 10.12 am, shares in easyJet were 5-1/4 pence lower at 299-1/4.

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Ryanair refuses to make payments to clients
23 August 2005
Irish Times

Ryanair is among a group of airlines refusing to pay new EU passenger compensation payments.

Since February, when new EU compensation rules for airline passengers came into force, the number of complaints and queries received by airlines has increased fourfold.

But the EU legislation has also created an unprecedented legal quagmire, according to several airline executives and aviation authorities that are challenging the rules in court.

Some airlines also say the rules have left them with an unsustainable financial risk. Low-cost carriers in particular insist they could be forced to reimburse many times the actual price of a ticket.

The EU compensation scheme is not based on the actual ticket price but instead uses a complex rising scale for what passengers can claim for events such as flight delays.

Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost airline, is among the airlines that have so far resisted paying the new compensation claims. Jim Callaghan, its head of regulatory affairs, says the new rules are "a complete mess".

Ryanair, he says, recently had a family of five that paid a total of €168 for their flights but were asking for compensation of €1,980 following a cancellation due to weather. In another case a woman who paid €46 for her flight was asking for €400. "This is how insane the situation is," he said.

Early next month, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice, the EU's highest court, is expected to give an opinion on the rules, following challenges by the International Air Transport Association and the European Low Fares Airlines Association.

(Financial Times Service)

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Ryanair Holdings: Cuts 12 Flights A Week At Newquay
31 August 2005
Edited Press Release

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Ryanair said Wednesday it will withdraw 12 flights per week or 100,000 passengers per annum at Newquay airport following the decision by Cornwall County Council to impose a GBP5 surcharge on passengers and visitors to the region.

Speaking this morning, Michael Cawley, Deputy CEO of Ryanair, said: "Ryanair has always made it very clear to Cornwall County Council that their airport and region is part of a competitive price sensitive market that must compete with 84 other low fare destinations from London Stansted. Under the right conditions this market is capable of delivering huge economic benefits to the region and in excess of 200,000 passengers per annum.

"Cornwall County Council's ridiculous decision to introduce a GBP5 tax per departing passenger would result in increased revenue of GBP250,000 for the Council and a reduced income for the region of GBP10.5M leaving Cornwall worse off to the effect of GBP10M per annum in terms of expenditure by visitors brought by Ryanair from London.

"With this type of misguided economics is it any wonder that regional tourism in the U.K. is suffering. The benefits which incoming flights can deliver to regions such as Cornwall are incalculable and far exceed the derisory income, which will be derived by the Council as a result of this tax.

"In the light of the inevitable reduction in demand, which will ensue from this increase in the cost of travel, Ryanair has decided to reduce its schedule to a daily flight and will obviously keep this under review with the possibility of further reductions in the future if demand deteriorates further".

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EasyJet appoints ex-RAC boss as new CEO
By Michael Smith

LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - British low-cost airline easyJet selected Andrew Harrison, the former boss of UK motor services firm RAC, as its new chief executive on Thursday.

Harrison, 48, will replace the airline's long-serving boss Ray Webster, who is retiring in December.

EasyJet has been searching for a successor since Webster announced in May he would be stepping down earlier than scheduled to spend more time in his native New Zealand.

"It is a good choice. He ticks all the boxes. He has financial experience and, crucially, big company experience. It is going to give the company a new lease of life," BNP Paribas analyst Geoff Van Klaveren said.

Shares in the airline rose 1.1 percent to 295 pence by 0934 GMT. The stock is trading near 15-month highs despite record high fuel costs and stiff competition.

Harrison left RAC after the group was taken over by insurance giant Aviva earlier this year for 1.1 billion pounds ($2 billion).

Analysts pointed to Harrison's track record and experience in a consumer-focused company as a positive signal for easyJet.

He joined Lex Service in 1996 as chief executive and oversaw its transformation from a vehicle distribution company into RAC plc, a well-known UK services company.

"In addition, Andrew has delivered strong top and bottom line growth, improved cash generation, introduced cost efficiencies and inspired employees in a service industry," easyJet Chairman Colin Chandler said.

Webster has been with easyJet since it was launched in 1995 with two leased aircraft and flew only from its base at Luton Airport near London to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

EasyJet, which has since expanded aggressively on short-haul European routes, raised earnings forecasts last month after demand for flights and cost cuts helped it offset higher fuel costs.

Businessman and easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou owns 41 percent of easyJet along with his family.

Analysts had expected an external candidate, though Harrison had not been widely tipped. EasyJet non-executive Colin Day resigned from the airline after failing to agree on terms to take on the role, local newspapers reported.

The company is still searching for a new commercial director.

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Ryanair Aug Passengers +27%
5 September 2005
Edited Press Release

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Ryanair Holdings Monday said the airline carried over 3.26 million passengers in August, an increase of 27% on the same period last year.

The August load factor was 91% compared with 92% a year ago, while the Internet sales percentage was 98% from 97% last year.

The airline carried 3,257,009 passengers in August 2005, compared with 2,565,185 a year ago.

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AUGUST PASSENGER STATS BLOW BRITISH AIRWAYS AWAY
Ryanair Press Release

Ryanair, Europe's No. 1 low fares airline, today (Monday, 5th September 2005) celebrated carrying more passengers in one month than British Airways on its worldwide network for the first ever time. The statistics for August published by both Ryanair and BA show that Ryanair carried 156,000 more passengers than BA's entire network figure. Ryanair currently operates 250 routes across 21 countries and this year will carry 35 million passengers.

Speaking this afternoon, Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary said:

"It's official - RYANAIR has today become the WORLD'S FAVOURITE AIRLINE! Last month Ryanair's traffic exceeded BA's worldwide passengers across its entire network. Ryanair carried over 3.26 million passengers an increase of 27% on the same period last year, while BA carried 3.10 million passengers on its entire worldwide network, as sales slumped by 4% from BA's August 2004 traffic in the face of multiple fuel surcharges. (BA suffered flight disruptions in August 2004 as well as 2005)

"Ryanair's passenger volumes are growing rapidly thanks to new destinations, lowest ever fares, industry leading punctuality and customer service and Ryanair's guarantee of NO fuel surcharges, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. BA keep turning passengers away with fuel surcharge after fuel surcharge, high fares, poor punctuality, flight cancellations and no catering. At least on Ryanair, customers can buy a sandwich with £100 they have saved over BA's high fares.

"That is why RYANAIR is now the WORLD'S FAVOURITE AIRLINE, and BA are now officially just the second choice".

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easyJet Carried 2.9M Passengers In August
7 September 2005
Edited Press Release

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- easyJet said Wednesday that for the month ending August 2005 it carried 2,903,404 passengers, a load factor of 88.4%.

This compares with 2,459,735 for August 2004, a load factor of 88.6%.

For the rolling 12 months ending July 2005 the company carried 29,169,743 passengers (load factor 85.2%) earning it revenue of GBP1,319 million compared with 23,879,509 passengers (load factor 84.4%) for the 12 months to July 2004 which earned it revenue of GBP1,071 million.

Chief Executive, Ray Webster said: "August was another strong month for easyJet: load factor and passenger growth were both virtually unchanged from last month. Unit revenue (total revenue per seat flown) continued to increase year-on-year. We maintain the revenue and profits guidance issued with our third quarter statistics last month."

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Budget airline arrivals up 33 percent in Spain in 2004

MADRID, Sept 5 (AFP) - The number of arrivals to Spain on low-cost airlines surged 33.3 percent to 14 million passengers in 2004 from the previous year, according to a report by the Institute of Tourism Studies obtained by AFP on Monday.

Traditional airlines meanwhile saw their passenger arrivals shrink by one percent during the same period, said the institute, which is an arm of the ministry of industry, tourism and commerce.

Passengers arriving to Spain by a budget airline made up 29.2 percent of all arrivals into the country.

"In 2004, there were 104,000 low-cost flights, a 32.6-percent increase from the previous year," the report said.

"They maintained strong occupancy rates of 81.7 percent, higher, as was the case already in 2003, than the 76.1 percent rate of traditional airlines," the study said.

Low-cost airlines made the biggest inroads in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, with 23 and 22.4 percent of all budget arrivals to the country respectively.

In Catalonia, 69.2 percent of the low-cost passengers arrived from Britain, Italy and Germany with more British now flying there on budget airlines than on traditional ones, the study noted.

Easyjet has the largest share of the low-cost flight market in Spain with 20.3 percent, followed by Air Berlin and Ryanair which managed to increase its passenger traffic by 120 percent last year.

Also Monday, Air Berlin's general director for Spain and Portugal, Alvaro Middelmann, said the company was planning to extend its services from Palma, Mallorca to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain and Amsterdam from November.

Air Berlin, which unveiled a 32-percent rise in passengers from Palma to 2.5 million from July to July, also plans to begin operating twice-daily services between Palma and Lisbon and also Porto in Portugal.

Spain, the second most-visited country in the world in 2004 after France, welcomed a record 53.6 million foreign visitors, according to government statistics.

British citizens topped arrivals with 16.38 million visiting in 2004, followed by the 10.2 million Germans and 7.49 million French tourists.

Tourism is the biggest source of income for the Spanish economy, accounting for 12 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to July 2005:
EasyJet = 28,725,408
Ryanair = 30,275,805

Percentage increase in passengers since July 2004:
EasyJet = 22.7%
Ryanair = 29%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in July 2005:
EasyJet = 85.2%
Ryanair = 90%



Ryanair's figures are absolutely amazing. 29% growth, 90% load factor, and an annual total punching through the 30 million barrier!! And EasyJet is never far behind....

Rolling 12 month passenger totals to August 2005:
EasyJet = 29,169,743
Ryanair = 30,967,629

Percentage increase in passengers since August 2004:
EasyJet = 22.2%
Ryanair = 27%

Load factor (ie percentage bums on seats) in August 2005:
EasyJet = 88.4%
Ryanair = 98%

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Ryanair passengers are forced to hire bus to get home after their flight is cancelled
BY JUSTIN STARES in Brussels
11 September 2005
The Sunday Telegraph

STRANDED RYANAIR passengers were forced to hire a bus and drive 600 miles home after their flight was cancelled and they were told that the next aircraft out of a small French airport would be in 10 days time.

The 51 holidaymakers, led by a Belgian window cleaner, clubbed together to rent a vehicle for euros4,000 ( pounds 2,700) after the no-frills airline announced that their flight from Carcassone to Charleroi airport, Brussels, would not be replaced.

The passengers, mostly Belgians but including five Britons and 15 Germans, were told upon arriving at the airport last week that their flight to Charleroi, Ryanair's European hub, had been cancelled due to bad weather.

Their aircraft had been diverted to nearby Perpignan during a storm and there was no time to transfer them to that airport before the plane made the return journey, empty, the company said.

"They abandoned us there as if we were dogs,'' said Gauthier Renders, the 28-year-old window cleaner from Brussels. "There were children there and even an old woman with a walking stick. They didn't even give us a glass of water.''

He continued: "At the Ryanair desk they said there were no available flights before September 15. Everything was fully booked. They said that some of us could get home via Gerone in Spain but that was 200 miles away and there were only 15 places available.

"They also said they wouldn't pay for us to get there. So I looked for a bus in the Yellow Pages and we were on the road by 9pm.'' The bus company provided two drivers and after a 16-hour drive the coach arrived in Belgium, on Tuesday.

"That's a long trip and everyone was pretty frustrated when we got there. Ryanair said they would refund our return flight - half the price of the original ticket - but said that it would take three weeks for the money to arrive,'' Mr Renders said. "They don't care about the bad publicity; they know they are a cheap airline and that people will use them again just because they are cheap. But not me: my wife and I will never fly Ryanair again.'' Mr Renders and his wife paid euros220 each for the return trip to Carcassone, where they were attending a wedding. "I collected the names and numbers of the other passengers and as soon as I got back I phoned my lawyer. I thought we could take them to court, but he said there was not much point as some people only paid euros5 and the legal fees would be much higher than that.''

David Gering, Ryanair's commercial director in Belgium, said: "Ryanair is the company which cancels the fewest flights in Europe, though we do occasionally have to due to technical problems or bad weather. In the case of a cancellation our policy is to reimburse or offer a seat on the next available flight.''

A spokesman for Charleroi airport said: "The subsequent flights were all fully booked and Ryanair did not want to spend the money sending a replacement aircraft.''

The incident came in the week that Ryanair suffered a setback in its fight to overturn a European Union law that raises compensation for stranded travellers.

An advocate general at the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice said that the 2004 law, which took effect in February, should be upheld.

The legislation entitles passengers left stranded by overbookings or cancelled flights to compensation of between euros250 and euros600. The law sets out how passengers should either be re-routed, or looked after while awaiting a new flight - including the circumstances in which they must be provided with food, hotels and access to a telephone. Ryanair admits that it has been "inundated with claims'' following the posting of the new rules on notice boards at airports all over the EU.

Ryanair and nine other airlines represented by the European Low Fares Airline Association want the legislation scrapped on the grounds that it contravenes an international agreement protecting airlines when delays are beyond their control. They claim that the rules are unfair because compensation may exceed what customers pay for their tickets.

"The regulation on compensation and assistance to air passengers is valid,'' advocate general Leendert Geelhoed said. The full court usually follows the advocate general's advice.

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Ryanair Holdings Names Cork As Its 15th European Base
13 September 2005
Edited Press Release

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Ryanair, a European low-cost airline,announced Tuesday Cork as its 15th European base.

The company said: "From Nov. 24, 2005, Ryanair will base a brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft worth $60M in Cork and add two new routes to Dublin and London Gatwick that will deliver more than 1 million passengers per annum on Ryanair's four routes to and from Cork." Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, said: "Ryanair's new Cork base will deliver 1 million passengers per annum, sustain 1,000 jobs in the region and allow the people of Cork and Munster to travel internationally and domestically for a fraction of existing prices.

"More than 1,000 low fare seats will be available daily between Cork and Dublin acting as a major stimulus to the tourism and business life of Cork."

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Ryanair Names Nottingham East Midlands New Base Airport
14 September 2005
Dow Jones International News
Edited Press Release

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Ryanair, on Wednesday named Nottingham East Midlands as its 15th European base.

From Mar. 7, Ryanair will base 2 brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft worth $120M at Nottingham East Midlands Airport and add 10 new routes to its existing 5 routes.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said: "From the 7th of March, Ryanair will operate 15 routes through Nottingham East Midlands delivering 1.2 million passengers per annum, sustaining 1,200 jobs in the East Midlands area."