Ryanair boss hits out at Shannon

RYANAIR chief executive Michael O’Leary has claimed that Shannon Airport “has priced itself out of existence”.

The claim, contained in a letter to Clare County Council, immediately met with an angry response from the Shannon Airport Authority yesterday, which described the letter as “self-serving and having no basis in fact”.

In the letter, Mr O’Leary states that traffic at Shannon “has continued to implode” as a direct result of “unjustified Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) cost increases” and “will fall below 1.5 million in 2011”.

In a table contained in the letter, Mr O’Leary estimates that traffic out of Shannon this year will be 1.4 million — almost half of its 2007 peak of 3.6 million when the five-year Ryanair deal delivered 1.7 million passengers.

Mr O’Leary states: “Ryanair has consistently stated that it can and will deliver rapid traffic growth at the main Irish airports.

“This requires the abolition of the air travel tax and a return to competitive pricing at each of the three DAA airports.

Mr O’Leary said “this will only be achieved at Shannon when it is freed from the dead hand of the Dublin airport monopoly and new owners emerge with a commitment to competitive costs and traffic growth”.

He adds that the DAA is focused only on paying for the T2 “white elephant” at the expense of Shannon and Cork airports.

“Ryanair opened more than 40 routes to/from Shannon during that period, even though the Shannon base was unprofitable — although the losses were manageable and could have been recovered over the medium term.”

He writes: “Sadly, the imposition by the last Government of a €10 travel tax in April 2009 destroyed our low cost base in Shannon and at a stroke switched off thousands of our price sensitive inbound visitors.”

A Shannon Airport Authority spokesperson said last night: “It is both bizarre and ironic considering that Ryanair, in accusing the airport of over-pricing, has itself recently introduced a compulsory €2 each-way ‘improbability charge’ for all passengers.

“Ryanair’s so-called ‘estimate’ for traffic at Shannon is false and bears no relation to the true expected position at the airport for 2011.

“Passenger charges at Shannon increased by €1.58 per passenger in late 2010. This was the first adjustment in six years, as prices had been frozen since 2004. During that same six-year period, Ryanair’s charges increased by up to 1,100% in some cases.

“Ryanair’s new ‘improbability charge’ increase is 27% greater than last year’s passenger charge adjustment at Shannon.”

The spokesperson added: “Shannon is focused on building a sustainable traffic base and is happy to work with all airlines including Ryanair to do that. But it has to be on a basis that makes financial sense for both the airport and the airline.”

Mr O’Leary’s letter arose after the local authority passed a motion calling on Ryanair to deliver on its commitment to increase passenger traffic at Shannon following the abolition of the €10 air travel tax.

Mr O’Leary described the motion as “inaccurate in fact and absurd”. The airline boss asked what motion the councillors have tabled in response to “naked price gouging in Shannon”.