Ryanair cuts Shannon services

NOT for the first time Ryanair has cut its services at Shannon Airport, citing costs at the airport as the reason.

 

As part of its winter schedule, Ryanair will cut its Liverpool and Gran Canaria routes as well as reducing its weekly flight frequencies.

In a statement the airline said, “Due to the high costs at Shannon Airport, as part of its winter 2012/13 schedule, Ryanair will cut its Shannon routes to/from Liverpool and Gran Canaria, reduce its weekly flight frequencies from 26 to 22 and move services to other lower-cost airports.”

It’s a frequent refrain from Ryanair who claim they can receive far better deals from airports around Europe than what is on offer at Shannon.

Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday, Stephen McNamara of Ryanair said the airline is paying just under €16 per departing passenger at Shannon, compared to an average of around €3 for Europe as a whole.

“At the moment the charges in Shannon are among the most expensive we’re paying. We don’t have a deal there and we are paying the published charges. Across Europe, we rarely pay the published charges, what happens is we can guarantee delivery of passenger numbers and agree more realistic prices. But in Ireland when we say we have experience of doing this around Europe, they say no, we know better, and they just can’t see the additional revenue that would be brought in.”

Mr McNamara said that Shannon could increase revenue through car parking, restaurants and retail. He also said that people at some European airports can get priority treatment at security, if they pay a charge, something that again boosts the airport’s coffers.

“Shannon needs to rethink its model. Asking Ryanair to pay higher charges is not going to lead to growth,” Mr McNamara concluded.

However speaking to The Clare Champion this week, Shannon-based Councillor Sean McLoughlin said that he didn’t accept the airline’s arguments.

“It’s Ryanair acting the bully boy as usual. What they’re trying to do is force the hand of the new airport authority and get deals before it comes into place. They should wait and, if they can, make a deal with the new authority. They’re claiming it’s the price but somebody has to pay for the running of the airport and, until we have a new authority there, there can be no deal done with anybody. I hope that when we get the new authority the Government will see some way of providing a fund that they can operate for two or three years to give an opportunity to grow its business.”

He said he believes Ryanair does have a role to play in Shannon’s future development. “There is room for Ryanair at the airport but it has to be treated the same as every other airline and pay the same fees. Hopefully deals can be done with all the airlines.”