TheLocalYokel
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[textarea]Ryanair Cuts Stansted Winter Capacity by 40%
Ryanair, the World’s favourite airline, today (21st July) announced a 40% capacity cutback in its Stansted Winter Schedule starting in October ’09. Ryanair operated 40 aircraft from Stansted this summer but will reduce this to 24 aircraft (a 40% reduction) this winter with a 30% reduction in the number of weekly flights and a loss of 2.5m passengers at Stansted between October and March 2010.
Ryanair is cutting Stansted winter capacity by 40% for the following reasons:
1. BAA Stansted is one of Ryanair’s two most expensive bases (Dublin is the other) and the BAA has rejected Ryanair’s calls for deep cuts in these high passenger fees this winter.
2. The UK Government will increase its £10 tourist tax (APD) to £11 in November despite the continuing traffic and tourism collapse (down 6% in June) at the BAA’s UK airports.
3. The BAA Monopoly continues to increase airport charges as traffic falls and the BAA delays the sale of Gatwick and Stansted airports.
In recent months the Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments have all scrapped tourist taxes and/or reduced airport charges to zero in order to stimulate tourism. Ryanair will now switch these 16 aircraft to other European bases where governments are scrapping tourist taxes and/or reducing passenger fees to zero. Ryanair has written to Gordon Brown calling for this Government to scrap this damaging tourist tax and pushing for much lower, more competitive airport fees at the BAA Monopoly airports.
Announcing this 40% winter cutback at Stansted, Michael O’Leary said:
“Sadly UK traffic and tourism continues to collapse while Ryanair continues to grow traffic rapidly in those countries which welcome tourists instead of taxing them. Ryanair’s 40% capacity cutback at London Stansted shows just how much Gordon Brown’s £10 tourist tax and the BAA Monopoly’s high airport charges are damaging London and UK tourism and the British economy generally.
“In recent months the Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments have all scrapped tourist taxes and/or reduced airport charges to zero in order to stimulate tourism. These cutbacks underline the urgent need to; (a) break-up the high cost BAA Airport Monopoly (as recommended by the Competition Commission) and (b)scrap Gordon Brown’s insane and damaging £10 tourist tax which has caused UK traffic to collapse”.[/textarea]
link: http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php ... -en-210709
This is a savage cutback on the face of it, although it is actually only a reduction of four aircraft on last winter, and one wonders how much bullsh*t is being spread as to the reasons.
Either Ryanair is convnced it can make more money abroad or it has more problems than perhaps might be realised or, more likely, it is the usual FR hot air and few winter routes will actually go but instead will be operated by aircraft based at the 'other end'.
Because they change their story regularly about so many things it is always difficult to even guess at the true cause(s).
Ryanair, the World’s favourite airline, today (21st July) announced a 40% capacity cutback in its Stansted Winter Schedule starting in October ’09. Ryanair operated 40 aircraft from Stansted this summer but will reduce this to 24 aircraft (a 40% reduction) this winter with a 30% reduction in the number of weekly flights and a loss of 2.5m passengers at Stansted between October and March 2010.
Ryanair is cutting Stansted winter capacity by 40% for the following reasons:
1. BAA Stansted is one of Ryanair’s two most expensive bases (Dublin is the other) and the BAA has rejected Ryanair’s calls for deep cuts in these high passenger fees this winter.
2. The UK Government will increase its £10 tourist tax (APD) to £11 in November despite the continuing traffic and tourism collapse (down 6% in June) at the BAA’s UK airports.
3. The BAA Monopoly continues to increase airport charges as traffic falls and the BAA delays the sale of Gatwick and Stansted airports.
In recent months the Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments have all scrapped tourist taxes and/or reduced airport charges to zero in order to stimulate tourism. Ryanair will now switch these 16 aircraft to other European bases where governments are scrapping tourist taxes and/or reducing passenger fees to zero. Ryanair has written to Gordon Brown calling for this Government to scrap this damaging tourist tax and pushing for much lower, more competitive airport fees at the BAA Monopoly airports.
Announcing this 40% winter cutback at Stansted, Michael O’Leary said:
“Sadly UK traffic and tourism continues to collapse while Ryanair continues to grow traffic rapidly in those countries which welcome tourists instead of taxing them. Ryanair’s 40% capacity cutback at London Stansted shows just how much Gordon Brown’s £10 tourist tax and the BAA Monopoly’s high airport charges are damaging London and UK tourism and the British economy generally.
“In recent months the Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments have all scrapped tourist taxes and/or reduced airport charges to zero in order to stimulate tourism. These cutbacks underline the urgent need to; (a) break-up the high cost BAA Airport Monopoly (as recommended by the Competition Commission) and (b)scrap Gordon Brown’s insane and damaging £10 tourist tax which has caused UK traffic to collapse”.[/textarea]
link: http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php ... -en-210709
This is a savage cutback on the face of it, although it is actually only a reduction of four aircraft on last winter, and one wonders how much bullsh*t is being spread as to the reasons.
Either Ryanair is convnced it can make more money abroad or it has more problems than perhaps might be realised or, more likely, it is the usual FR hot air and few winter routes will actually go but instead will be operated by aircraft based at the 'other end'.
Because they change their story regularly about so many things it is always difficult to even guess at the true cause(s).
