Ryanair News--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News Release
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30.08.06
RYANAIR PROPOSES NEW ROUTES FOR MALTA
Ryanair, Europe’s leading low fares airline, today (30th August) confirmed that it had submitted proposals to the Maltese Government to fly three new routes to Malta International Airport from London Luton, Pisa and Dublin. The proposal is a response to the Maltese Government’s call to low cost airlines for offers to fly routes to the Mediterranean island.
Ryanair’s plan is to launch, on a year round basis, a daily service from London Luton starting on 31st October 2006, a three times weekly service from Pisa starting on 31st October 2006 and a three times weekly service from Dublin starting on 9th February 2007.
Announcing the proposals at a press conference in Malta today, Ryanair’s Deputy Chief Executive, Michael Cawley, said:
“Ryanair is very pleased to respond to the call by the Maltese Government to start routes to and from Malta International Airport. We have been encouraging the Maltese Government to promote the advent of low cost airlines as a solution to the declining tourism industry. The provision of a long-term, low cost regime at MIA is crucial to the success of low fares airlines and we welcome the initiatives by the Government to effectively reduce this cost over the long term. We believe this proposal is the start of a new era for Maltese tourism. The decline, which has been evident in their visitor numbers for some time, will now reverse and that success can be built upon with more growth which Ryanair is quite prepared to provide to Malta from its various bases throughout Europe in the coming years.
We commend the Maltese Government for this initiative and look forward to working with them in the futureâ€.
RYANAIR PROPOSES NEW ROUTES FOR MALTA
Moderatoren: Markus, Rolf
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Source: .timesofmalta
Low-cost airlines get green light
Ryanair plans flights from October 31
Herman Grech
At least one major low-cost airline will be flying to Malta very soon, after a government-appointed committee yesterday accepted the proposals of Ryanair and EasyJet.
Europe's biggest budget airline Ryanair is prepared to start operations to Malta by the end of October though it is not clear when, or if, EasyJet will follow suit.
Ryanair submitted proposals to start daily flights to Luton and three weekly flights to Pisa and Dublin. It wants to increase the frequencies of the Pisa flight as demand picks up.
EasyJet applied to start daily flights to Luton and five weekly flights to Mulhouse-Basel.
The routes were those on offer in return for government incentives and support schemes totalling Lm1 million in a bid to get airlines to fly to underserved destinations and boost tourism in the shoulder months. The acceptance of the proposals marks the culmination of a long-drawn out debate over whether low-fare carriers should operate to Malta, given the threat they pose to established airlines.
Major operators in the tourism industry have been clamouring for their introduction and the move will also be welcomed by Maltese travellers.
The adjudicating committee appointed to review the bids forwarded its recommendations to the government yesterday.
Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said the government was accepting their recommendation and letters were in fact sent yesterday to both airlines informing them of the decision.
The minister said the government was reacting in the fastest possible manner, conscious of the lead time required by the airlines to promote the flights. He added that, since this is a state aid matter, acceptance of these proposals remains subject to approval by the European Commission.
A spokesman for Ryanair in Malta said the airline was delighted that the evaluation process had been finalised in a matter of days.
The Ryanair publicity is to start at once to make sure the first flights from Pisa and Luton to Malta take off by the end of October. The flights to Dublin are expected to start next February.
"We are hoping more routes will be opened and that eventually we will be granted a base in Malta," the spokesman said.
Ryanair yesterday confirmed it had carried a record four million passengers last month, making it the first airline to carry more than four million international passengers in one month.
To mark this achievement, Ryanair is planning to give away four million free seats on its 371 European routes over the next seven days.
It is not clear whether the Malta flights will form part of this offer.
The local representative of EasyJet could not be contacted as he is currently abroad.
Sources close to the industry have, however cast doubts on whether the Luton-based airline will actually start its operations since Ryanair has confirmed it will also be flying to Malta. While Ryanair's deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said his airline did not fear competition, EasyJet has remained conspicuously absent from the debate. Sources said that EasyJet applied to start operations next April or May.
Low-cost airlines get green light
Ryanair plans flights from October 31
Herman Grech
At least one major low-cost airline will be flying to Malta very soon, after a government-appointed committee yesterday accepted the proposals of Ryanair and EasyJet.
Europe's biggest budget airline Ryanair is prepared to start operations to Malta by the end of October though it is not clear when, or if, EasyJet will follow suit.
Ryanair submitted proposals to start daily flights to Luton and three weekly flights to Pisa and Dublin. It wants to increase the frequencies of the Pisa flight as demand picks up.
EasyJet applied to start daily flights to Luton and five weekly flights to Mulhouse-Basel.
The routes were those on offer in return for government incentives and support schemes totalling Lm1 million in a bid to get airlines to fly to underserved destinations and boost tourism in the shoulder months. The acceptance of the proposals marks the culmination of a long-drawn out debate over whether low-fare carriers should operate to Malta, given the threat they pose to established airlines.
Major operators in the tourism industry have been clamouring for their introduction and the move will also be welcomed by Maltese travellers.
The adjudicating committee appointed to review the bids forwarded its recommendations to the government yesterday.
Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said the government was accepting their recommendation and letters were in fact sent yesterday to both airlines informing them of the decision.
The minister said the government was reacting in the fastest possible manner, conscious of the lead time required by the airlines to promote the flights. He added that, since this is a state aid matter, acceptance of these proposals remains subject to approval by the European Commission.
A spokesman for Ryanair in Malta said the airline was delighted that the evaluation process had been finalised in a matter of days.
The Ryanair publicity is to start at once to make sure the first flights from Pisa and Luton to Malta take off by the end of October. The flights to Dublin are expected to start next February.
"We are hoping more routes will be opened and that eventually we will be granted a base in Malta," the spokesman said.
Ryanair yesterday confirmed it had carried a record four million passengers last month, making it the first airline to carry more than four million international passengers in one month.
To mark this achievement, Ryanair is planning to give away four million free seats on its 371 European routes over the next seven days.
It is not clear whether the Malta flights will form part of this offer.
The local representative of EasyJet could not be contacted as he is currently abroad.
Sources close to the industry have, however cast doubts on whether the Luton-based airline will actually start its operations since Ryanair has confirmed it will also be flying to Malta. While Ryanair's deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said his airline did not fear competition, EasyJet has remained conspicuously absent from the debate. Sources said that EasyJet applied to start operations next April or May.