easyJet to switch to allocated seating September 5, 2012 Budget carrier easyJet said today it would roll out allocated seating across its network from November following a successful trial this summer. Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier after Ryanair had tested the new system across five per cent of its network during the peak season with 70 per cent of passengers preferring it to easyJet’s current [...]
Ryanair bullish on Aer Lingus September 4, 2012 RYANAIR chief executive Michael O’Leary believes he can make a deal with competition authorities to clear the way for his takeover of rival airline Aer Lingus. O’Leary told reporters yesterday: “We are confident that the remedies package will be enough to satisfy competition issues. “There are 46 cross over routes and we will remedy all [...]
Ryanair confident on Aer Lingus bid September 4, 2012 Ryanair is confident it can allay competition concerns about its latest bid for rival Aer Lingus, its chief executive said today, adding the budget airline was also seeking no more than a 25 per cent stake in Stansted Airport. Ryanair launched its third offer in five years for Irish rival Aer Lingus in June, a [...]
Ryanair bid for Aer Lingus stalls as Europe opens antitrust probe August 29, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission has put the brakes on Ryanair’s latest takeover bid for Aer Lingus by opening an in-depth competition probe. The investigation means Ryanair’s €694m (£549.5m) offer for its Irish rival lapses, though the airline said it plans to make a new bid for Aer Lingus if it gets clearance from Brussels. The Commission, [...]
EU widens Ryanair probe for Aer Lingus August 29, 2012 Europe’s competition regulator has launched an in-depth review of Ryanair’s latest bid for Irish rival Aer Lingus, signalling the budget airline may have to make big concessions to ease competition concerns or face fresh failure. Ryanair, which already owns 30 per cent of Aer Lingus, had an initial bid turned down by the European Commission [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 27, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Ryanair seeks rivals’ help in bid Ryanair is seeking regulatory approval for its proposed takeover of Aer Lingus by asking at least six airlines to operate alternative services on some of the Irish flag carrier’s routes. Ryanair has approached competitors, asking them to consider providing competition on routes to and from Dublin. Aviva [...]
Aer Lingus reiterates rejection of Ryanair bid August 24, 2012 Irish airline Aer Lingus today renewed a call to its shareholders to reject Ryanair’s latest takeover bid, saying its budget rival had failed to provide any new information on its offer. Ryanair has asked EU antitrust regulators to approve the €694m (£535m) takeover bid – its third – for the former state carrier in what [...]
BAA’s airport sale lures Ryanair and Manchester August 20, 2012 MANCHESTER Airport Group (MAG), which owns Manchester, Bournemouth and East Midlands airports, is understood to be the front-runner to make a £1bn bid for Stansted Airport. Aviation firm BAA revealed yesterday that it is to sell Stansted Airport after it gave up on a long legal battle. BAA had been fighting a 2009 Competition Commission [...]
Stansted considered a prize asset now it is finally being sold August 20, 2012 THERE are more than a handful of less than busy investment bankers celebrating the decision yesterday by Spanish group Ferrovial that it will sell Stansted Airport. The group is finally doing so after three years of wrangling with the competition authorities. The Spaniards have been trying long and hard to avoid a sale, even threatening [...]
Airlines ask for stats to back up calls to axe passenger tax August 19, 2012 AIRLINES have stepped up pressure on the government to scrap a lucrative tax on plane passengers, by commissioning an independent report on the cost of the levy to the UK economy. Virgin, IAG, easyJet and Ryanair have asked consultancy PwC to produce an objective report on the impact of air passenger duty (APD), which is [...]