SSE asks Michael O’Leary what exactly he means by a “new” route….
Stop Stansted Expansion are asking Michael O’Leary some questions about the dubious publicity that Ryanair puts out, repeatedly, about its new flights and destinations – for destinations to which it already flies. Ryanair routinely publicises “new” routes time after time. The “new” routes to Bordeaux and Rabat have been announced three times so far – in Ryanair press releases in September 2013, February 2014 and March 2014. SSE asks Mr O’Leary “What exactly do you mean by new?” In conjunction with the claims of new routes, Ryanair puts out statements about how many jobs it is creating. It claims its ‘new’ routes will generate an extra 2 million passengers and create an extra 2,000 jobs at Stansted. That would mean 1,000 jobs created for every million Ryanair passengers. According to Ryanair’s latest annual report the airline employed 114 staff for every million passengers carried. That would mean 228 jobs for an extra 2 million passengers. So SSE’s question to Mr O’Leary is “Where do the other 1,772 Stansted jobs come from?” Baggage handlers?
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THREE QUESTIONS FOR MICHAEL O’LEARY
23.3.2014 (Stop Stansted Expansion)
Michael O’Leary may have a habit of disappointing his customers but he rarely disappoints when it comes to media hype. His latest wheeze [Ryanair Press Release 19 March 2014] is to claim that Ryanair will open eight new routes from Stansted this coming winter season creating 2,000 extra jobs.
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has three questions for Mr O’Leary:
- 1. He lists the eight new routes as Athens, Basel, Bordeaux, Bucharest, Perpignan, Prague, Rabat and Skelleftea. However, anyone with access to the internet can quickly discover that Ryanair already flies from Stansted to every single one of these destinations and in some cases it’s the third time Ryanair has issued a press release announcing the same ‘new’ routes. So SSE’s question to Mr O’Leary is “What exactly do you mean by new?”
- 2. Mr O’Leary’s claim that his ‘new’ routes will generate an extra 2 million passengers and create an extra 2,000 jobs at Stansted is even more preposterous. That would mean a thousand jobs created for every million Ryanair passengers. According to Ryanair’s latest annual report the airline employed 114 staff for every million passengers carried. That would mean 228 jobs for an extra 2 million passengers. So SSE’s question to Mr O’Leary is “Where do the other 1,772 Stansted jobs come from?” Baggage handlers?
- 3. Ryanair already accounts for over 75% of Stansted’s passengers and plans to expand its business at Stansted by 50% over the next 10 years, thereby returning Stansted to its pre-recession level of business, last seen in 2007. The difference however is that Stansted will then be even more dominated by Ryanair. SSE’s question to Mr O’Leary is therefore “Why not just buy Stansted and be done with it?” You could rename it London O’Leary Airport (LOL). At least people would then know it was nowhere near London, and the commercial possibilities would be endless. You could even start charging people a pound to use the airport’s toilets. Now there’s a thought!
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- The Ryanair press releases announcing these ‘new’ routes can be found on its website at http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ – releases dated 16 September 2013, 7 February 2014 and 19 March 2014.
- Ryanair’s 2013 Annual Report (page 3) shows the number of passengers carried last year (79.3 million) and the average number of staff employed (9,059) – see Ryanair website at http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2013/final_annual_report_2013_130731.pdf
- www.stopstanstedexpansion.com
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- 19.03.14
RYANAIR LAUNCHES LONDON 2014 WINTER SCHEDULE
- 8 NEW ROUTES, MORE FLIGHTS ON 36 BUSINESS ROUTESATHENS, BASEL, BORDEAUX, BUCHAREST, PERPIGNAN, PRAGUE, RABAT & SKELLEFTEARyanair, Europe’s favourite low fares airline, today (19 Mar) released its London Stansted 2014 winter schedule, with 8 new routes and increased flights on 36 other routes, which will deliver growth of 2m customers p.a. and support 2,000* new on-site jobs at London Stansted Airport.Ryanair’s winter 2014 schedule at London Stansted will deliver:· 8 new routes: Athens, Basel, Bordeaux, Bucharest, Perpignan, Prague, Rabat & Skelleftea· 109 Stansted routes in total· Growth from 490 to over 700 weekly flights· Increased frequencies & improved schedules on 36 business routes· Over 2m new Ryanair customers p.a. at Stansted (15.1m in total)· Over 2,000* additional jobs sustained at Stansted AirportRyanair celebrated its London Stansted winter schedule and 8 new routes by releasing 100,000 seats for sale across its European network, at prices from £19.99 for travel in April and May. These low fare seats are available for booking until midnight Thur (20 Mar). Ryanair’s Stansted winter schedule goes on sale on the Ryanair.com website tomorrow.In London, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:“Ryanair is pleased to launch our London Stansted 2014 winter schedule, with 8 new routes to Athens, Basel, Bordeaux, Bucharest, Perpignan, Prague, Rabat and Skelleftea, as well as increased frequencies on 36 other routes, all of which go on sale on the Ryanair.com website tomorrow. As Stansted’s biggest airline, Ryanair looks forward to continuing to work closely with M.A.G. to grow traffic, routes and jobs at Stansted Airport.Our 8 new winter routes with multiple daily frequencies are ideal for business passengers or families booking a winter sun or ski getaway. Ryanair customers can also enjoy our recent customer service improvements including a second free carry-on bag, allocated seating and the use of portable electronic devices, with further improvements to be rolled out over the coming months.
- …… and it continues ….
- http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryanair-launches-london-2014-winter-schedule
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7.2.2014
RYANAIR LAUNCHES NEW ROUTES FROM LONDON STANSTED TO BORDEAUX AND RABAT
Ryanair, Europe’s favourite low fares airline, this week celebrated its inaugural flights from London Stansted to Bordeaux in France and Rabat in Morocco. Ryanair will operate three weekly flights to Bordeaux on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays offering passengers in the East of England area even more choice for 2014. With fares starting from £17.99 there’s no excuse not to sample all that is on offer in Bordeaux.
.16.9.2013
RYANAIR AGREES 10 YEAR GROWTH DEAL AT STANSTED
- TRAFFIC TO GROW BY 50% FROM 13.2M P.A. TO OVER 20MSUMMER 2014 SCHEDULE RELEASED WITH 4 NEW ROUTES(BORDEAUX, DORTMUND, LISBON & RABAT)Ryanair and Manchester Airport Group (MAG), today (16 Sep) announced that they had concluded a 10 year growth agreement at London Stansted Airport, which will see Ryanair grow its traffic at Stansted by over 50%, from 13.2m passengers in 2012 to over 20m p.a. in return for a package of lower costs and more efficient facilities at Stansted. This agreement will account for up to 25% of Ryanair’s 5 year growth plans to 2019. Ryanair expects its Stansted traffic in year 1 of this 10-year deal to grow from 13.2m to over 14.5m.Ryanair has today released its Stansted summer 2014 schedule (at www.ryanair.com), with a total of 120 routes, including 4 new routes to Bordeaux, Dortmund, Lisbon and Rabat, which will feature:
- 43 based aircraft in Stansted (up from 37)
- 120 routes (up from 116)
- 4 new routes to Bordeaux, Dortmund, Lisbon & Rabat
- Over 2,000 weekly flights (up from 1,800)
- Traffic growth from 13.2m to over 20m p.a.
- Up to 7,000* new jobs created at Stansted over a 5 year period
Ryanair celebrated the launch of its Stansted summer 2014 schedule (and 4 new routes) by releasing 100,000 seats at prices from £14.99 for travel in October and November, which are available for booking until midnight (24:00hrs) Thur (19 Sep). - …. and it continues …..
- http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryanair-agrees-10-year-growth-deal-at-stansted
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See earlier;
Ryanair added 138 jobs per extra million passengers 2011 – 2013, but claim 1,000 jobs are created per additional million passengers
17.9.2013
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