Ruling could hit Ryanair deals

A LANDMARK European Commission ruling next month on subsidies to regional airports could profoundly affect the business model of low-cost airline Ryanair and other bargain carriers, EU officials say.

Ryanair lost a legal battle in France on Thursday when an appeals court upheld a ban on a subsidy by the local chamber of commerce to help it start a Strasbourg-London route, after a challenge by an Air France subsidiary.

But EU officials and industry analysts say a Commission decision in late