Irish no-frills airline Ryanair is tightening the squeeze on its rivals with seven new European routes from London Stansted. They include Rome Ciampino and Milan Bergamo, as well as Eindhoven - its first service to the Netherlands. The carrier will also launch in April two daily flights to Newquay in Cornwall, its second domestic UK route. Last month Ryanair placed an order for 100 Boeing 737-800s with 50 options (Flight International, 29 January - 4 February).
Chief executive Michael O'Leary expects to open European hubs in Italy, Scandinavia and France within "two or three years", joining existing bases at Brussels Charleroi and Frankfurt Hahn. Ryanair is also considering services to inland Spanish cities. Other new destinations are: Friedrichshafen, Germany; Montpellier, France; and Austria's Graz and Klagenfurt. Ryanair is also adding Glasgow Prestwick to Oslo Torp services, and Brussels to Liverpool and Rome.
O'Leary is particularly bullish about Germany, where Ryanair faces legal action from Lufthansa to ban it from calling Hahn airport Frankfurt. He says load factors on its 10 routes from the hub are "running at 60-70% in the first month".
O'Leary says "a queue" of major airports has been seeking Ryanair's business since 11 September. The condition is they must offer 25-minute turnarounds, he says.
Source: Flight International
