Ryanair announce biggest ever route expansion
20.12.07
Ryanair has announced its largest ever route expansion. Europe's biggest budget airline announced a total of 50 new services from its airport bases across Europe, including new routes from Birmingham, Durham Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Stansted, Manchester and Newquay to destinations in Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Romania.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary announced the expansion despite recent comments on the immediate prospects for the industry in the face of the credit market crisis and a rising oil price. He has warned consistently that there will be 'blood on the walls' in the airline market this winter because of weak sales.
However, Ryanair's reaction during downturns, as in the summer, is to slash fares and expand aggressively. This latest route announcement - its biggest ever - has been accompanied by another seat sale, offering 2 million tickets for £10 including taxes and charges.
The new routes from UK airports are:
Birmingham Airport to Barcelona (Girona), Marseille and Pisa.
Durham Tees Valley to Alicante.
Edinburgh to Alicante, Bremen, Frankfurt, Marseille and Pisa.
Liverpool to Malaga and Nantes.
Stansted to Angouleme and Faro.
Manchester to Barcelona (Girona), Bremen, Marseille and Milan.
Newquay to Alicante and Barcelona (Girona).
Ryanair will operate more than 600 routes by next summer following the announcement. Mr. O'Leary predicted that almost 60 million passengers would fly with the airline in 2008 as a result of expansion from 15 bases across Europe.
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