Demise of Spanair Good News, Says Ryanair
February 1st, 2012
The Chairman of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, believes that the bankruptcy of Spanair is “good news for tourism and employment in Spain”, because, in his view, “it will allow the arrival of new airlines to take its place and, at the same time, increase traffic by offering lower rates and a more efficient service”.
In a press conference in Palma, O’Leary argued that a company like Spanair with “high rates can not survive, and does not deserve to be in the market”, and indicated that the airline’s situation “is not new, but it had been dragging in the last few years, and with the different owners that the company has had recently.”
On the other hand, el Economista reported that O’Leary accused Aena for the “high costs of taxes” imposed on the airlines, being “one of the causes” of the closure of Spanair and he criticised the airport management “monopoly” of being “detrimental to the development of air transport”.
O’Leary indicated that in this situation, it is “necessary” to reach agreements with the public administrators in order to achieve “marketing incentives”, especially during the winter months, to “alleviate the high costs of airport taxes, which are the same as in summer”.
The Ryanair Chairman pointed out that his airline is already in talks with the Balearic Government and Palma airport, to determine the winter calendar, but has already rejected the possibility of covering inter-island routes, saying they are “too short” for Ryanair aircraft.
More Planes and Jobs
“Spanish airports are competing at a disadvantage with other European airports,” criticised O’Leary, who announced that his airline has ordered 30 new aircraft for the coming months which will generate 1,500 direct jobs (500 pilots, 850 cabin crew and 150 engineers).
O’Leary also announced that next week Ryanair are to begin recruiting new staff, and has urged former Spanair employees to submit themselves to the selection process, but he did warn that, unlike Vueling announced, they will not have “priority”, but that all candidates will be treated “equally”.
Specifically, 16 of the new aircraft will begin to operate between January and April, five of which will be in the new Ryanair base in Palma, while the remaining 14 aircraft will arrive between October and December. The Ryanair Chairman reiterated that each of these aircraft will generate 50 direct jobs.
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