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Travellers looking for a deal could be in for a
bonus as Ryanair has announced that it will go into direct competition with Aer
Lingus on several of its popular sun destinations from Ireland.
The chief executive Michael O'Leary has confirmed that Ryanair will fly seven
new routes from Cork Airport which is currently flown by rival Aer Lingus.
Aer Lingus has downplayed suggestions of a Irish price war after rebranding
itself as a "civilised" airline that cares about its customers more
than price, which is a dig at Ryanair's more brash approach to its passengers.
Ryanair said the new flights which included Portugal and Spain destinations will
be available during the peak summer period only.
"We will operate them for three months – June, July and August,"
Michael O'Leary told The Irish press. "If they go, I’d say they could come back in 2011. If we can carry a lot of people from Cork to the sun in three months of the summer at a fraction of the fares charged by Aer Lingus, let’s do
it." he boasted.
The Ryanair spokesman added: "It serves two agendas. One, it gives us more growth at Cork Airport. And two, it causes significant damage to our weaker and smaller
competitors."
He also went on to predict that Ryanair would undercut Aer Lingus by up to 48%
on some of the routes.
Aer Lingus hit back with Stephen Kavanagh saying that the airline will operate
140 weekly flights from Cork throughout the summer including new destinations to
Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey, La Rochelle, London Gatwick and Tenerife.
Ryanair’s new routes from Cork Airport will be Alicante, Barcelona Reus, Bordeaux, Faro, La Rochelle, Lanzarote and Malaga, with one-way fares starting from £39.99.
For the latest prices and bookings visit the airlines websites -
www.ryanair.com
www.aerlingus.com
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