Ryanair welcomed the decision of the Administrative Tribunal of Strasbourg, which rejected an attempt by…
Ryanair welcomed the decision of the Administrative Tribunal of Strasbourg, which rejected an attempt by Brit Air, a subsidiary of Air France, to stop Ryanair from providing its low fare services on the Strasbourg to London route, a route characterised by some of the highest fares in Europe. Brit Air/Air France formerly had a complete monopoly on this route and restricted capacity to just 3,000 passengers per month charging fares of over €700. Ryanair is now carrying over 17,000 passengers per month at fares as low as €19.00 one way and saving consumers over €3 million per month!
This clearly demonstrates the benefits of low fare air services from regional and secondary airports. High fare airlines like Air France have been down grading services from these airports and in many cases refuse to fly to them at all. Passengers are increasingly being forced to travel through high cost hub airports like Charles de Gaulle and as a result regional airports and local residents suffer.
Commenting on the court`s decision, Ryanair`s Head of Regulatory Affairs, Jim Callaghan, said: The Brit Air/Air France monopoly first tried to price Ryanair off the route by slashing their fares but no one beats Ryanair`s prices! Failing this, they then resorted to applying to the courts for an injunction against Ryanair`s agreement with the airport. However, the court yesterday rejected this obvious attempt to limit competition and sent them packing.
This attempt to stop Ryanair`s low fare services at Strasbourg demonstrates the lengths that high fare airlines and also high cost airports are willing to go to prevent competition from low fare airlines and secondary and regional airports, including making spurious complaints to courts and the EU Commission.
Ryanair will continue to fight on behalf of consumers further attempts by high fare airlines and high cost airports who seek to prevent low fare competition in Strasbourg and elsewhere.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
