14th Aug 2007 11:35
Ryanair Holdings PLC14 August 2007 RYANAIR RESPONDS TO AER LINGUS CLOSURE OF SHANNON-HEATHROW ROUTE - THREE NEW LONDON FLIGHTS TO DELIVER 330,000 PAX P.A. - REQUESTS AER LINGUS EGM TO RESTORE SHANNON-HEATHROW SERVICES - OFFERS TO WITHDRAW EXTRA LONDON FLIGHTS IF AER LINGUS STAYS Ryanair, Ireland's largest airline, held a press conference in Shannon Airportthis morning (Tuesday 14th August 2007) to announce that if Aer Lingus proceedswith its plan to close the Shannon-Heathrow route and abandon 330,000 passengerswho currently use it, then Ryanair will provide 3 additional daily flights toLondon to ensure Shannon Airport's capacity and traffic does not fall as aresult of this Aer Lingus closure. The new flights include: - A fourth daily flight to London Stansted. - A second daily flight to London Gatwick. - A daily flight to London Luton. Ryanair's London services will increase from 4 to 7 flights daily, providingShannon passengers with daily connections to 3 London airports including Gatwickand Stansted, which offer more destinations and connections to Europe thanLondon Heathrow does presently. SHANNON - LONDON ROUTEDestination Departure ArrivalStansted 06.35 08.00Stansted 10.35 12.00 (new)Luton 12.25 13.40 (new)Gatwick 13.05 14.30Stansted 16.20 17.45Gatwick 19.50 21.15 (new)Stansted 20.00 21.20 Ryanair also announced that it had written yesterday to Aer Lingus requestingthat an EGM of Aer Lingus be called, to allow Aer Lingus shareholders theopportunity to exercise their statutory right to consider requesting the Boardand Management of Aer Lingus to reverse the Shannon closure decision andmaintain Aer Lingus's 4 daily flights between Shannon and Heathrow. Aer Lingushave confirmed that its Shannon-Heathrow route is profitable and Ryanairbelieves that by reducing its costs in Shannon Aer Lingus's profits can befurther increased in the interests of all Aer Lingus shareholders. Ryanair has in its letter suggested that Aer Lingus consider using the recentlyannounced 4 daily Dublin-Gatwick flights as a suitable alternative for its newBelfast base. This would allow Aer Lingus to operate Aldergrove Belfast - LondonGatwick 4 times daily, while retaining Shannon-Heathrow 4 times daily services.Alternatively Aer Lingus could operate 4 daily flights from Belfast to Heathrowusing 2 of Aer Lingus's existing Heathrow slots which are currently used forflights to Dublin and Cork, as well as the 2 Heathrow slots which are leased outto other airlines. Ryanair confirmed that - if so requested by the Government - it would be willingto vote its 25% shareholding in favour of the motion to retain Aer Lingus'sexisting profitable Shannon-Heathrow services. Alternatively the Governmentcould ask Ryanair to abstain from voting, which would give the Government andthe ESOT a majority at the EGM and allow them to save Shannon's Heathrowservices. On its own, Ryanair's 25% stake will be insufficient to influence thisdecision. The trade unions, who between them own almost 20% of Aer Lingus, havealready indicated that they would vote in favour of retaining Aer Lingus'sShannon-Heathrow services. Therefore all that is needed to save Aer Lingus'scurrent Shannon-Heathrow services is for Bertie Ahern's Government (acting as a25% shareholder) to lift a finger and vote in favour of the motion at the EGM. Speaking today in Shannon, Ryanair's, Michael O'Leary said: "As Shannon's largest airline, Ryanair is determined to ensure that Shannon and the Mid-West region will suffer no loss of traffic or flights as a result of Aer Lingus's decision to abandon Shannon in favour of Belfast. These 3 new Shannon-London flights which will connect Shannon to Stansted, Gatwick and Luton, will replace Aer Lingus's existing Heathrow capacity and will ensure that an additional 330,000 passengers annually will travel between Shannon and London should Aer Lingus proceed to abandon Shannon. If Aer Lingus cancels its Shannon-Heathrow flights, then it is inevitable that the Shannon transatlantic flights will also transfer to Belfast Aldergrove in the not too distant future. The Government and Aer Lingus's determination to invest in Belfast should not come at Shannon's expense. We believe that our proposals will enable Aer Lingus's Shannon-Heathrow services to continue, while also allowing Aer Lingus to serve Belfast-London 4 times daily. "Aer Lingus's rules confirm that any 10% shareholder can ask for an EGM to be called. It is surprising that neither the Government nor the trade unions, both of whom own over 10% have taken up Ryanair's previous offer to work together or called for an EGM to be held. Accordingly and in the interests of retaining a profitable route for the benefit of all Aer Lingus shareholders, Ryanair has asked Aer Lingus to call an EGM and we will be asking the trade unions and Bertie Ahern's Government to support this motion calling for Shannon's 4 daily flights to Heathrow to be maintained. This need not come at the expense of Belfast, since we believe that Aer Lingus can switch its recently announced 4 times daily Dublin-Gatwick flights to Belfast. Competing from Belfast to Gatwick against the relatively high fare Easyjet, will certainly be more profitable for Aer Lingus than competing against the much lower fare Ryanair on the Dublin-Gatwick route. These moves will we believe deliver superior profits and returns for Aer Lingus shareholders and should therefore be endorsed by the management and shareholders of Aer Lingus. Alternatively Aer Lingus can still fly four times daily from Belfast to Heathrow by switching one Dublin and one Cork flight and taking back the two Heathrow slots which it presently leases out. "Since Ryanair remains committed to working closely with the Shannon Airport Authority to help them grow and develop Shannon, we have confirmed to the Chairman of Shannon Airport, that these 3 additional daily flights to London will be suspended should Aer Lingus decide to maintain its existing 4 daily flights operation between Shannon and Heathrow. It would not make financial sense for Ryanair to add these flights in circumstances where Aer Lingus continues to provide capacity for 330,000 passengers annually on the Shannon-London route". Ryanair stated that a solution to this Shannon crisis is now firmly in BertieAhern's court. Ryanair wrote to him over one week ago offering to work with theGovernment to preserve the Shannon-Heathrow route. Despite this crisis inShannon, Bertie Ahern has ignored Ryanair's letter. Bertie Ahern's Governmentcannot ignore this EGM motion. If the Government, acting as a 25% shareholder inAer Lingus, simply vote in favour of maintaining the profitable Shannon-Heathrowservices, then these can and will continue without affecting any of Aer Lingus'srecently announced Belfast-London flights. If Bertie Ahern fails to support thismotion, then the extent to which his Government has lied, and abandoned Shannonin favour of Belfast will become apparent to all. In those circumstances,Ryanair will add these 3 extra daily flights to ensure that Shannon suffers noloss of flights or traffic as a result of Aer Lingus abandoning theShannon-London route. Ends. Tuesday, 14th August 2007 For further information please contact Peter Sherrard Pauline McAlester Ryanair Murray Consultants Tel. +353-1-8121228 Tel.+353-1-4980300 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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