Company Watch - Ryanair.

Aug 13, 2007

Ryanair, after investing EUR350 million euros (USD$481.9 million) at Ciampino over the years, Ryanair does not want to move its flights to Rome's larger Fiumicino hub, he said. The airline's complaint filed at the Lazio regional court seeks a temporary injunction against the traffic cuts. Aug 9, 2007

Ryanair has filed a lawsuit against Italy's aviation authority for cutting traffic at Rome's Ciampino Airport by 30 percent, a move the low-cost airline says is aimed at protecting national carrier Alitalia. Italian politicians and civil aviation authority ENAC last month agreed to reduce the number of flights out of Ciampino to 100 from 138 daily from November, after complaints of congestion and high noise levels from local residents. Aug 9, 2007

Ryanair is in talks with three other Italian cities to set up a new base, including one city on the mainland and the other two on Italian islands, he said. Ryanair has repeatedly criticized Italian state support for the loss-making Alitalia, in which the government is trying to sell its controlling stake -- so far unsuccessfully. Ryanair's CEO O'Leary laughed when asked if he would consider buying the Italian national airline as Rome continues its search for a buyer. He said he would not take over Alitalia even if were given away for free. Aug 9, 2007

Ryanair, which has also asked the European Commission to intervene, says military aircraft, rather than its flights, are to blame for noise at night and dismissed ENAC's claim that runway repairs are another reason for the cuts. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told a news conference on Wednesday. He said the decision will force Ryanair to cancel 66 flights each week, or about 12 percent of its flights out of Ciampino -- Rome's second airport that caters to budget airlines. Aug 9, 2007

Ryanair Sues Italy Over Rome Airport Traffic Cuts Ryanair has filed a lawsuit against Italy's aviation authority for cutting traffic at Rome's Ciampino Airport by 30 percent, a move the low-cost airline says is aimed at protecting national carrier Alitalia. Aug 8, 2007

Ryanair, easyJet and Air Berlin accounted for 54% of low-cost capacity within Europe, down from 55% in 2005, while the top 10 LCCs accounted for 77%, down from 80%. Among other findings, the UK remained the largest LCC country with 56 million departing seats in 2006, but growth slowed dramatically to below 11% per year. Stansted was the largest low-cost hub with 14.1 million departing seats last year, while Wroclaw was the fastest-growing low-cost airport and Vueling the fastest-growing LCC in terms of departing seats. The analysis also shows that at current growth rates, more than half of all European point-to-point passengers will be carried by LCCs by 2011. LCCs will account for 43% of the estimated 1 billion intra-Europe seats on offer that year. For more information about the LCM, contact [e-mail] Aug 7, 2007

Ryanair is slashing capacity at one of its busiest airports for the first time in its history. Of all airline bosses, only Michael O'Leary could take such action and come out looking like a hero.The Ryanair chief executive is grounding seven out of 40 planes flying from Stansted this winter and cutting back routes elsewhere.His detractors will use this as evidence that Ryanair's low-cost business model has come unstuck. Aug 6, 2007

Ryanair, the leading European low-cost airline, is establishing two more operating bases in Spain. The Irish carrier, which has the broadest spread of operations across Europe of any airline, with 20 bases in eight countries, is thought to be close to finalising deals in Valencia and Alicante.The expected moves will intensify the battle for the Spanish market, the main focus for the expansion of low-cost carriers in Europe after the UK and Germany. Aug 6, 2007

Ryanair transported 4.8 million passengers in July, up 21% from the year-ago month. Load factor was steady at 90%. Aug 6, 2007

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