EasyJet unveils Irish routes

BRITISH low-fares airline easyJet yesterday announced plans to launch routes out of Cork, Shannon and Knock airports.

The move is the first time the airline has attempted to break the Irish market and will see it go head-to-head with arch rival Ryanair.

From next January, easyJet will fly twice a day from Cork to London’s Gatwick Airport and once a day from Knock and Shannon.

In an attack on Ryanair, which also flies from Cork and Shannon to London, easyJet chief executive Ray Webster said his airline would bring real price competition on the routes.

“These are our first services to the Republic of Ireland, where air fares, in many cases, have remained stubbornly high and have generated consistently strong year-round returns for the incumbent airline.

“We are bringing easyJet’s well-established brand to Ireland and will be flying to the right places at the right prices for hundreds of thousands of passengers.”

That claim met with the derision from Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. He said yesterday that easyJet fares were 60% more expensive than Ryanair’s.

“The announcement is remarkably similar to Barbara Cassani’s when Go came in. She came to Ireland with a mission to bring in low fares and four months later she was gone. The reality is that our fares in Ireland are low and keep falling,” Mr O’Leary said.

The arrival of the second-largest budget carrier behind Ryanair is a major coup for Aer Rianta.

It has been courting the airline for years, though easyJet will not receive any discounts on landing fees.