RYANAIR WELCOMES AIRFARE TRANSPARANCY

Jim Mason

2006-07-18 15:17:54 UTC

Post by Jim Mason
News Release
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18.07.06
RYANAIR WELCOMES AIRFARE TRANSPARANCY
HIGH FARE AIRLINES AND FUEL SURCHARGES TO BE EXPOSED

News Release
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18.07.06
RYANAIR WELCOMES EU TRANSPARENCY RULES, BUT WHY MUST WE WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER
2007?

Ryanair, Europe?s largest low fares airline today welcomed the latest
proposals from the European Commission on transparency of air fares, but
asked why it will take 18 months - until December 2007 - for the Transport
Commission to actually put these rules in place?

Ryanair commented that today?s proposals were another PR exercise by the EU
Transport Commission which again hides their failure to tackle issues of
real importance to European air travellers.

Commenting on today?s proposals, Ryanair?s Chief Executive, Michael O?Leary
said:

?This morning?s announcement by the EU Transport Commission on transparency
of air fares is welcome, but one has to ask why European air passengers
will have to wait 18 months until December 2007 for this Commission to even
implement its own proposals? This morning?s press conference from the
Transport Commission highlights its preference for press releases, instead
of taking real action to advance the interests of European consumers.

?Ryanair warmly welcomes any proposals that will increase the transparency
of air fares for European passengers. Any such transparency rules will
highlight:

(1) That Ryanair provides all passengers with a full breakdown of
its fares, fees and charges both on the homepage of its website and again
before they are allowed to book any flight on www.ryanair.com.

(2) Any such transparency will emphasise the enormous difference
between Ryanair?s average fare of £28 and the average fares of our high
fare competitors from Easyjet (average fare £42) to British Airways
(average fare £190).

(3) Any such transparency will highlight the scandal of fuel
surcharges being extorted by Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa
while Ryanair continues to guarantee no fuel surcharges today, tomorrow or
ever.

?We regret that the Transport Commission in its desire to issue further
press releases this morning has failed to tackle any of the real issues of
importance to European air travellers such as:

(1) Why must passengers wait until December 2007 ? over 18 months
away ? for these transparency rules to be introduced?

(2) What is the Transport Commission doing to check in the
scandalous level of fuel surcharges being levied by British Airways, Air
France and Lufthansa which bear little relationship to the cost of oil and
are presently the subject of price fixing investigations by the OFT in the
UK and the DOT in the U.S.?

(3) Why has the Transport Commission still failed to collect the
illegal State Aid given to Olympic Airways years after it was supposed to
be repaid?

(4) Why hasn?t the Transport Commission banned the policy of
overbooking, instead of just introducing compensation rules for victims of
this practice?

(5) Why does the Transport Commission sign off on billions of State
Aid to flag carrier airlines in Europe under the guise of Public Service
Order (PSO) subsidies, which allow airlines like Alitalia and Air France to
maintain high fare monopolies on routes, while receiving billions of euros
of Government subsidies.

(6) Why is the EU Transport Commission seriously considering
emissions trading penalties for European airlines which may double the cost
of air travel for European consumers at a time when non European airlines
will suffer no such self imposed penalties?

(7) Why is the Transport Commission which talks about advancing
passenger interests in reality supporting plans to further tax those
passengers and damage their interests?

(8) Why did this Transport Commission stand idly by while the French
Government added a further €1 tax to air fares to/from France for relief of
debt in the third world?

Ryanair regrets that this Transport Commission is more interested in press
releases and PR than it is in tackling the real causes of high fares (fuel
surcharges and emissions trading schemes). Only in Brussels could a
proposal which takes 18 months to be implemented be described by the
Commission as ?taking action?, when effectively nothing will happen until
2008. Yet again the EU Transport Commission ?talks? a lot but ?does?
little.

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