Ryanair boosts frequency on Ireland routes
Ryanair is to boost frequencies on five Ireland to UK routes from October in a direct response to similar flight increases recently announced by Aer Lingus.
The no-frills airline said its decision to intensify competition with its Aer Lingus further undermined an ongoing investigation into Ryanair’s 29% stake in its Irish rival by the UK Competition Commission, which has expressed concern that Ryanair has influence over its rival.
"Confronted with incontrovertible evidence that competition between Ryanair and Aer Lingus has intensified, the UKCC has been reduced to inventing fairytale future "concerns" that Ryanair has "influence" over Aer Lingus or that this stake has or will lead to a lessening of competition," it said.
Ryanair will add an additional daily flight on the Dublin to London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Bristol this winter.
In February, the European Commission blocked Ryanair’s move to takeover Aer Lingus on anti-competitive grounds.
"If, as the UKCC now claims, Ryanair has "influence" over Aer Lingus which "might" lessen competition, then it should explain why Aer Lingus has recently increased flights on the five main Ireland-UK routes or why Ryanair is now responding with yet more flight frequency, which will lead to lower prices and better deals for those few UK consumers who actually fly Aer Lingus," said Ryanair.
Following the UK Competition Commission’s interim findings, Ryanair has offered to sell its 29% stake to any EU airline that acquires 50.1% of Aer Lingus.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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