Ryanair News
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News Release
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06.06.08
Ryanair Rejects Aer Arann’s Claims
 
 
Ryanair, Ireland’s largest airline, today (Friday, 6th June 2008) rejected 
the remarkable and completely ludicrous claim by Aer Arann’s Pádraig Ó 
Ceidigh who suggested in an Irish Times interview that “The biggest problem 
we (Aer Arann) are facing is that Ryanair is all over us like a rash”. 
Ryanair confirmed that there was no substance whatsoever to this ludicrous 
claim.
 
Ryanair pointed out that of its 670 routes, it competes with Aer Arann on 
just one (Dublin-Cork). Out of Aer Arann’s 40 plus routes they compete with 
Ryanair on just one (Dublin-Cork). Even Aer Arann would find it difficult 
to explain how Ryanair could be “all over it like a rash” on just one of 
its 40 plus routes.
 
Ryanair confirmed that these claims by Pádraig Ó Ceidigh are designed to 
deflect attention from its financial losses, at a time when Aer Arann have 
lost one of its PSO subsidised routes (Dublin-Kerry) to Ryanair. This will 
reduce the amount of Government subsidies received by Aer Arann by some €5m 
over the next three years. The reality of Aer Arann’s financial position is 
that the combination of high fares, low load factors, poor punctuality and 
the loss of massive Government subsidies will result in significant losses 
this year. Aer Arann, which doesn’t publish its accounts (a remarkable 
omission for a company who received over €100 million in subsidies over the 
last 6 years) cannot survive without massive Government subsidies. These 
attempts to blame Ryanair for its losses have no substance when the two 
airlines compete on only one route. 
 
Ryanair believes that Aer Arann’s losses will rise as a result of the loss 
of the Dublin-Kerry subsidies and it is questionable whether Aer Arann 
could survive at all without the Government PSO subsidies.
 
Commenting today on Pádraig Ó Ceidigh’s claims, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary 
said:
 
“We compete with Aer Arann on just one of our 670 routes.   At a time when 
we plan to double in size over the next 5 years, our major focus is on our 
principal competitors BA, Air France and Lufthansa and not on tiny regional 
loss making airlines like Aer Arann. We remain concerned that the Irish tax 
payer is still paying out millions of unjustified subsidies annually to an 
unlimited airline which doesn’t publish any accounts. It is seriously 
questionable whether this is a sensible use of tax payers’ funds, which 
should in our view be better spent on the health services or education in 
Ireland.   There is no truth to the claim that Ryanair is “all over Aer 
Arann”. We have demonstrated to the Competition Authority that there was no 
truth in Aer Arann’s claims on the Cork-Dublin route. Aer Arann is simply 
trying to deflect attention from its ongoing and increasing losses by 
blaming an airline which it competes with on just one of its 40 plus 
routes.
 
Ryanair calls on Aer Arann to put up or shut up. Aer Arann should publish 
its accounts and let its customers see exactly whether it would be 
profitable or not or whether it could even survive without these massive 
taxpayer subsidies”.

In article , 
jim.mason@removethisukonline.co.uk says...
  
> Ryanair calls on Aer Arann to put up or shut up. Aer Arann should publish 
> its accounts and let its customers see exactly whether it would be 
> profitable or not or whether it could even survive without these massive 
> taxpayer subsidies”.

You really have to admire their nerve. RYR are the biggest by far 
beneficiary of the EU deemed illegal Scottish Route Development Fund.

I assume RYR will now be publishing how ""profitable"" their Scottish 
routes are without this SE handout?