Ryanair reduces Cork Services
Ryanair Holdings PLC
08 March 2006
RYANAIR ANNOUNCES -
REDUCTION IN ITS SERVICES TO CORK
NEW ROUTE FROM KERRY TO LIVERPOOL
Ryanair, Europe's leading low fares airline, today (Wednesday, 8th March 2006)
announced a reduction in its services to Cork Airport following recent cost
increases there. Cork Airport Authority recently announced a range of cost
increases (38 in total) for various services at the airport including a 300%
increase in the rental charge of check-in and ticket desks. These increases will
push up Ryanair's costs at the airport by over €30,000 per annum. The increases,
which are a direct result of the debt, which Cork Airport has inherited as a
result of its new, Taj Mahal-like, terminal now makes Cork Airport massively
uncompetitive against its peer airports throughout Europe and has made other
destinations for Ryanair much more attractive. The Liverpool to Cork route will
reduce from 7 per week to 4 per week.
On the good news front Ryanair also announced that it will be starting a new
three times weekly service from Liverpool to Kerry as a much cheaper alternative
to Cork.
Announcing the reduction in services in Cork today, Ryanair's Deputy Chief
Executive, Michael Cawley, said
'Cork Airport is in danger of pricing itself out of the market with
these outrageous price increases. Cork Airport has to realise that it is
in competition with hundreds of other airports throughout Europe for
passengers whose only concern is to get low fares. The Cork Airport
Authority has spent €180M on a terminal for 3 million passengers. Both
Frankfurt Hahn and Dusseldorf Weeze built the same capacity for €13M and
€15M respectively. If, by forcing the airport to assume the debt burden
arising from this expenditure, the Government insists that Cork Airport
is to charge a premium for its services then it will lose out on the
hundreds of thousands of passengers which Ryanair and other airlines
have brought to the region. For the sake of a cost increase of €30,000
the region is going to lose 20,000 incoming tourists and business
visitors, the income from which runs to approximately €8 million. This
is an idiotic way to run an airport and is a direct result of the
Government's transport policies of overspending and making its regional
airports uncompetitive by building lavish and expensive facilities which
passengers and visiting tourists are not prepared to pay for.
'Consequently, Ryanair is reducing its services on the Liverpool route
to reflect the reduction in demand which we expect will ensue from this
cost increase.
'The good news is that we are able to salvage the tourists with the help
of Kerry Airport. We are delighted that we will now be moving these
passengers to Kerry Airport who have offered us an extremely competitive
cost base, much more reflective of what is available in Continental
Europe and we are delighted that, while passengers may not be passing
through Cork Airport, they will still be coming to the region, served
through a much more efficient and low cost airport'.
Ends. Wednesday, 8th March 2006
For further information:
Peter Sherrard - Ryanair Pauline McAlester - Murray Consultants
Tel: 00 353 1 812 1228 Tel: 00 353 1 4980 300
This information is provided by RNS
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