Ryanair cuts Dublin flights by a fifth
Ryanair is slashing flights by a fifth at Dublin this summer blaming rising airport charges and a government travel tax, it emerged today.
The no-frills carrier said frequency of services would be cut across the board from the end of March at the hub, leading to 150 lay-offs and the loss of more than 2,000 support jobs.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary warned fares would increase out of Ireland by at least 10%, with no more free seat sales over the next 12 months.
“I expect out of Ireland they (prices) would rise by a minimum of 10% this year,” he said.
“Certainly out of Ireland they would go up by at least €3, probably more.
“I think all of the air fares out of Ireland will rise, because the airlines have cut back capacity so much.”
Mr O’Leary said passenger numbers at Dublin had fallen by three million in the last year, blaming the airport fees and the €10 per departing passenger tax unveiled in the Budget for 2009.
He predicted the Government would be forced to scrap the levy.
But the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) claimed Ryanair was reducing flights to suit themselves, claiming the airline’s own charges had soared in recent years.
From June to August the airline is to increase its sun-holiday flights from Dublin – including Alicante, Canary Islands, Faro and Malaga – claiming passengers would pay more for those destinations in the summer.
The Ryanair cuts include:
:: A 17% reduction in Dublin-based summer fleet – from 18 last year to 15.
:: A 20% cut in the airline’s summer traffic from 8.7 million to 6.5 million up until March 2011.
:: The loss of 150 Ryanair jobs, including pilots, crews and engineers, and over 2,000 support jobs.
:: Cuts to the airline’s winter schedule are also expected.
Mr O’Leary said Ryanair’s passenger numbers grew last year and would rise by over seven million to 73 million this year, but the expansion was outside Ireland.
The DAA questioned why Ryanair was increasing flights at Dublin in the summer if they were reducing services because of airport charges.
“Ryanair’s public position does not stand up to scrutiny,” a statement read.
“If, as it claims, charges at Dublin Airport are one of the key reasons that it is reducing capacity, why do those same charges not have any impact on the company’s desire to offer additional flights to sun destination from Dublin this year?
“A passenger pays the same charge at Dublin Airport whether they are flying to Malaga or to Manchester.”
"Airport charges at Dublin Airport are regulated by the independent Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) and the regulator has decided that the appropriate charge for this year is €9.32," the DAA said.
"On a like-for-like basis, this equates to a €1.76 increase in charges."
"It seems odd that an airline that regularly charges passengers €10 each for the privilege of paying for a return flight by credit card should argue that this change will cause a seismic shift in travel patterns. "
Despite the predicted increase in fares out of Ireland, Mr O’Leary forecast prices would remain flat across Europe.
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