Gunter Endres/LONDON
IRISH NO-FRILLS AIRLINE Ryanair is being forced to offer only 50% of seats available on its flights between London Stansted and Prestwick in Scotland, until it obtains its own Aircraft Operating Certificate, or finds a UK airline which will operate the service on its behalf (Flight International, 4-10 October, P12.
The initial plan to use one of its own Irish-registered Boeing 737s, which was to have been flown on wet lease by GB Airways, has been vetoed by the UK Department of Transport as being incompatible with European Union (EU) law. Fifth-freedom rights as an extension of its Dublin-Prestwick service - at 50% capacity - were its only consolation. The decision took the gloss off its highly publicised service, which was offered, from 26 October with fares starting at £59 return.
To compound Ryanair's misery, GB Airways threw in its lot with another airline, EasyJet, and started flying on its behalf earlier this month between Luton (just outside London) and Glasgow and Edinburgh, using two 737-200s leased from the Independent Aviation Group. In the first week, direct-sale EasyJet recorded average load factors in excess of 75%, with a single rock-bottom fare of £29.
Battle on the Scottish routes - littered with departed airlines - has started. Air UK (which also operates from Stansted) has reduced its fares to levels close to those of Ryanair. British Airways and British Midland have yet to respond.
Source: Flight International
