“Ryanair is to cancel thousands of its own customers’ bookings after they were made through internet travel agents whose activities it says are illegal.
The airline is targeting price comparison websites on which you can buy Ryanair flights without having to go directly to the Irish firm’s site. ”
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk
“No-frills airline Ryanair said Thursday it will withdraw nearly a third of its aircraft from its major London base and suspend operations at seven other European airports because of sky-high fuel costs and its failure to negotiate lower airport fees.”
Link: http://www.wtop.com
“RYANAIR is to allow mobile-phone calls on some of its flights. If approval is given by regulators, Europe’s biggest budget airline will run trials on ten planes from the end of the month. So far, so normal. But what’s strange here is that Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s boss, told the Mail on Sunday that his airline would not take a cut from the call charges.”
Link: http://www.economist.com
“JetBlue Airways, which made its name providing free television and leather seats on its flights, started charging passengers for pillows on Monday, marking the latest attempt by struggling airlines to claw back some of the cost of high fuel prices.
JetBlue said it will no longer provide pillows, but passengers on flights longer than two hours can buy a pillow and blanket kit for USD$7, which the airline is touting as healthy and eco-friendly.”
Link: http://news.airwise.com
“Ryanair has commenced copyright infringement proceedings against Bravofly before the Commercial Court, Dublin, to prevent it from using Ryanair’s booking engine to sell flights online. Bravofly, a Dutch-based business with offices in Dublin, Switzerland and Italy, is allegedly practising the subtle skill of screenscraping, contrary to the published terms for the website’s use.”
“easyJet has confirmed that Expedia is not the only online travel firm to have felt the airline’s wrath – it has also fired off letters to several other UK websites warning them to stop selling its flights.”
“EasyJet is expected to break from the rest of Britain’s airlines today and support plans that would replace taxes on passengers with a tax levied on aircraft.”
Link: http://www.avweb.com
“European budget carrier Ryanair has taken its cheeky reputation to new levels, with chief executive officer Michael O’Leary suggesting business class passengers would receive free oral sex on flights.”
Link: http://www.smh.com.aul
“Easyjet has broken ranks with the remainder of the airline industry and supported the Government’s proposals to replace Airport Passenger Duty with a per flight charge. The current system is levied on individual passengers and flight distance. The new system will be levied per flight and will be based on take-off weight.”
“Easyjet has broken ranks with the remainder of the airline industry and supported the Government’s proposals to replace Airport Passenger Duty with a per flight charge. The current system is levied on individual passengers and flight distance. The new system will be levied per flight and will be based on take-off weight.”
“The European Commission has launched a new probe into whether regional authorities break EU state aid rules by funding local airports used by Irish budget airline Ryanair, this time at Frankfurt’s Hahn Airport.
The Commission said on Tuesday it was checking public financing given to the airport by the Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz regional authorities in Germany, as well as from publicly owned parent company Fraport.”
Link: http://news.airwise.com
“THE multi-millionaire founder of easyJet, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is set to launch a personal campaign for the reuniting of the Elgin marbles. The controversial marble sculptures, which have been at the centre of a diplomatic dispute between Britain and Greece for decades, are split between the British Museum in London and the New Acropolis Museum in Athens.”
Link: http://news.scotsman.com
“Ryanair’s Web site has been hit by a second system glitch since the airline launched a new bookings system in February, causing difficulty to customers attempting to buy tickets.
It is taking customers up to a minute to switch pages on the site owing to the problems, Ryanair said, and a number of them are not receiving flight confirmations because payment authorization is being delayed.”
“Ryanair has no plans to stop operations or increase charges amidst rising fuel prices. The Irish budget airline recently announced a 20 percent rise in profits in the past 12 months will help it absorb high oil prices even if they hover around $130 a barrel.
In a statement, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary expressed confidence that the company would break even next year and could manage the ill-effects of short term income loss due to high fuel costs.”
[travel] Ananova - EasyJet Launches Second Seat Sell-Off “No-frills airline easyJet has launched its second round of sales in less than two months as figures showed its planes were less full in May than a year ago.
Airlines have been struggling with soaring oil prices near $130 a barrel, but easyJet is offering up to 20% off two million seats between June 16 and July 17.
In April, the company offered a similar promotion covering May and June as competition in the sector intensifies despite surging costs.”
Link: http://www.ananova.com