Ryanair to pull flights at Shannon

boardsie08

The Herald:

Ryanair intends to pull three of its four aircraft from Shannon Airport at a loss of 100 jobs because of the new €10 departure tax.


The airline's boss, Michael O'Leary said this week that the new tax would be 'responsible for closing Shannon Airport' and that air traffic there would be cut dramatically.


Ryanair plans to cut its passenger numbers through Shannon Airport from two million to a mere 750,000.




The airline's chief executive said that the reduction brought on by the €10 departure tax announced in the Budget would doom the mid-west airport.
He said that while Ryanair was to account for 60pc of Shannon's traffic this year, next year it would cut the number of aircraft based there from four to one, with the loss of 100 jobs.



"You will see tumbleweed rolling across the ground at Shannon," said Mr O'Leary.



"This travel tax has been badly thought out and the Government will effectively be responsible for closing Shannon Airport."

Apparently O'Leary was on the radio too this morning about this, anyone know which show/station?


Wouldn't mind catching up on it..


Doesn't look too good for Shannon..


Knock is in a far worse position though, they already have a "development tax" of sorts already, now this too!

*Kol*

Thats not good. Its virtually impossible to get to or from Shannon into anywhere in Europe in les than 1 day at the moment. It's quicker to fly to the other side of the world.

brettmirl

Why is he moaning about the €10 tax?

It's the passengers that pay that, not Ryanair!

Run_to_da_hills

O Leary but it well in a recent news article in the Limerick Leader, There will be "tumbleweed rolling down the runways at Shannon" by winter of next year". he states.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Ryanair-warns-of-jobs-and.4635641.jp

old boy

any excuse will do. always blame some one else for your own troubles.

Flyer1

He's no idiot lads, he knows what he's doing.

diverdriver

Why is he moaning about the €10 tax?
It's the passengers that pay that, not Ryanair!

When you offer low fares a tenner is a big difference to the price and decisons are made based on price. Ryanair will lose business as will every airline. Ryanair will have to collect that tax and people only look at the bottom line.

It's a stupid tax and of course in line with all the other stupid decisions made in the budget. Thoughtlessly our moronic government forgot that not everyone flies out of Dublin so people flying out of the west coast have to pay extra to fly to the UK than people in Dublin. We've had some bad Fianna Fail governments in our time. But this one really has hit bottom.

O'Leary is right about Shannon too. Without Ryanair there, it will get terribly quiet.

Mr. Presentable

If this was really the reason, perhaps they could defray the cost by removing their 10.00 per passenger credit card charge.

Smacks of convenience, to be honest. They want out, but without losing face given their stance when Aer Lingus withdrew. They should thank the Govt for giving them an easy out.

vulcan57

diverdriver wrote: »

When you offer low fares a tenner is a big difference to the price and decisons are made based on price. Ryanair will lose business as will every airline. Ryanair will have to collect that tax and people only look at the bottom line.

It shouldn't make a difference because its going to be the same for every airline, its all proportional. Ryanair would still be the cheapest out of Shannon.

It is a stupid tax though.

boardsie08

nipplenuts wrote: »

If this was really the reason, perhaps they could defray the cost by removing their 10.00 per passenger credit card charge.

Smacks of convenience, to be honest. They want out, but without losing face given their stance when Aer Lingus withdrew. They should thank the Govt for giving them an easy out.

I can't see Ryanair waiving their CC fee - after all, on 1c flights etc, this is where they make their profits, along with baggage charges etc..

In fairness, the E10 tax would be going straight to the Government, not into O'Leary's pockets.

vulcan57 wrote: »

It shouldn't make a difference because its going to be the same for every airline, its all proportional. Ryanair would still be the cheapest out of Shannon.

It is a stupid tax though.

It's not proportional though; if you're going to the UK and you fly from Dublin - no airport tax.

If you fly from Shannon - then that's another tenner!

When you're paying 1c for your flight it's a pain having to fork out a tenner in a tax, when you don't have to if you're flying from Dublin.

For those living, say half ways between Shannon and Dublin - which airport do you think they'll fly from when booking their "free" flight to the
UK?

It'll only succeed in making Dublin airport even more congested than it already is.

For those living equal-ish distance between the two airports, I'd say the majority would prefer to fly from Shannon - quicker check in times, shorter time waiting for baggage to arrive, not having to walk 20 mins to your departing gate etc..

However, if they can avoid the E10 tax, I think it's safe to assume that a lot would go from Dublin instead, thus giving Dublin an unfair advantage over Shannon.

The fair thing to do would be for this Airport Tax not to kick in until you are say, 10 miles outside of the Irish coast - NOT from the actual departing airport.

That way it would be a level playing field for all. I.E, same price to fly from Knock, Shannon etc.. as it is from Dublin.

I really don't think that Ryanair actually *want* to pull out from Shannon, I think that's nonsense, I fly Ryanair a lot from Shannon, and 99% of the time the flights are full to capacity each way. So it's not as if the routes aren't profitable.

Ryanair have a good customer base at Shannon and they know this. However, if the tax is implemented at departure point, then obviously Dublin has the upper hand over Shannon, and it's understandable to see why they would cut operations at Shannon because of this.

I don't think that there would be any talk of Ryanair pulling out of Shannon if it weren't for the Airport Tax.

diverdriver

Let's be clear, Ryanair are only interested in profit. Which is fair enough. They have not emotional ties to Shannon or any other airport. They are not there to provide a service for the local community as some people living near Shannon seem to think. They are there to make money. If they don't make money at an airport, they go. Simple as that.

O'Leary's point is simple. If they can't make money basing four or five aircraft there. They will reduce their capacity until they do. If they can't make money with one aircraft, they are gone. If Ryanair cannot make money at Shannon, then no one can. If this stupid tax does have an impact on passenger numbers at Shannon then Ryanair will go. I suspect profits at some airports Ryanair serves are marginal, probably including Shannon. Empty seats cost money. Even if they do make a profit, they might still pull out and move to an airport that does make money. Just like Aer Lingus did by moving to Belfast. It's simple economics.

FlutterinBantam

Exactly.

The only reason an airline company operates out of an airport is that it is profitable to do so.

No other reason what soever.

Foggy43

I agree that Ryanair are there to make money.

Is there any logical explanation behind the government's €10 tax on flights to the UK from airports other that Dublin? I believe it been done on a distance basis.
When does it come in?

snubbleste

"An air travel tax applying to all departures from Irish airports will come into force on Monday 30 March 2009. The general rate applying will be €10 per passenger with a lower rate of €2 for shorter air journeys under 300 kms.
The air travel tax will not apply to:
- passengers under two years
- disabled passengers and assisting persons
- aircraft with less than 20 passenger seats
- transit passengers - members of the crew
- air services to and from Irish offshore islands
- aircraft departing airports that in the previous calendar year had less than 10,000 departing passengers.


Destinations to which the lower Air Travel Tax of €2 will apply:
From: Dublin
To: Blackpool; Cardiff; Cork; Donegal; Derry; Galway; Glasgow; Glasgow (Prestwick); Isle of Man; Knock; Kerry; Liverpool; Manchester; Shannon; Sligo

From: Shannon
To: Dublin "

therecklessone

boardsie08 wrote: »

It's not proportional though; if you're going to the UK and you fly from Dublin - no airport tax.

If you fly from Shannon - then that's another tenner!

When you're paying 1c for your flight it's a pain having to fork out a tenner in a tax, when you don't have to if you're flying from Dublin.

There are only 3 destinations served from Dublin and Shannon on which Shannon-based passengers will pay €10 while Dublin-based passengers will pay the reduced €2, Liverpool/Manchester/Glasgow(Prestwick)

In total that means 3 flights a day from Shannon will incur the higher charge.

diverdriver

3 destinations? There you go. That's the three destinations to will be wound up.

It's amazing how many Fianna FAIL supporters have come out of the woodwork. They probably support screwing pensioners, children and the rest of us taxpayers as well. Them and their little pals the Greens. How I'm laughing at the Greens now. When you sup with the devil..................:P

highlydebased

therecklessone wrote: »

There are only 3 destinations served from Dublin and Shannon on which Shannon-based passengers will pay €10 while Dublin-based passengers will pay the reduced €2, Liverpool/Manchester/Glasgow(Prestwick)

In total that means 3 flights a day from Shannon will incur the higher charge.

No- Practically every flight from Shannon will incur the charge, it is not just UK routes!

If it were only these routes, it would be non-issue. But the point being raised is that another tenner on top of already low fares will remove viability from flights in the winter seeing as there would be then less inbound traffic (tourists).

therecklessone

Neon-Circles wrote: »

No- Practically every flight from Shannon will incur the charge, it is not just UK routes!

I am aware of that, but I believe it's pretty clear I was replying to the assumption that this hands an advantage to Dublin Airport over Shannon. There are three routes ex-Shannon that will incur the €10 tax where only €2 is levied ex-Dublin. One flight a day to each destination.

3 flights a day in total.

On the London routes, on Nottingham, on Birmingham, on Bristol and on Edinburgh passengers from both airports will pay the same tax.

It would serve the interests of the region much better if people stopped trying to turn the issue into a regional dispute and instead found common ground with air travellers from the entire country, such as asking the obvious question as to why aircraft with <20 seats are exempt (when it is clear that corporate air travel is one of the biggest contributors to aviation carbon emissions on a per passenger basis)

Schuhart

therecklessone wrote: »

I am aware of that, but I believe it's pretty clear I was replying to the assumption that this hands an advantage to Dublin Airport over Shannon. There are three routes ex-Shannon that will incur the €10 tax where only €2 is levied ex-Dublin. One flight a day to each destination.

3 flights a day in total.

On the London routes, on Nottingham, on Birmingham, on Bristol and on Edinburgh passengers from both airports will pay the same tax.

It would serve the interests of the region much better if people stopped trying to turn the issue into a regional dispute and instead found common ground with air travellers from the entire country, such as asking the obvious question as to why aircraft with <20 seats are exempt (when it is clear that corporate air travel is one of the biggest contributors to aviation carbon emissions on a per passenger basis)

Stop trying to apply reason to this issue. Next you'll be reminding us that, as three quarters of all passenger traffic goes through Dublin anyway, that the bulk of the tax collected will be from Dublin in any event. This is a tax on Shannon - the fact that most of the revenue will actually be paid by passengers using Dublin is a mere technicality.

We all know that what the DAA and its minions are after is dominance on those three vital routes to Liverpool, Manchester and Prestwick. The 195 other routes served out of Dublin are just a smokescreen to cover this up.

In seriousness, I don't actually see the need for two levels of tax for the same destinations. Leaving aside the Shannon-centric paranoia, it would strike me that we should either tax all flights at the same rate or none. Is the issue to do with fears of breaking EU competition rules if they want to exempt domestic flights? Why would we want to exempt domestic flights?

Schuhart

boardsie08 wrote: »

I don't think that there would be any talk of Ryanair pulling out of Shannon if it weren't for the Airport Tax.

Ermm ... You must have missed what O'Leary said last July. Which is strange as it was widely reported

"Three years ago when Ryanair began operating at Shannon, it serviced about nine international routes. Today, it alone offers 31 international routes to Shannon Airport which is doing phenomenally well. It offers more international connections than Cork Airport. Cork Airport has a bigger local catchment area than Shannon Airport. In future years Shannon Airport will be lucky to hang on to all of those services because some of them lose money. Ryanair operates 28 bases and is a publicly quoted company. I am not known for hanging around, losing money. Shannon Airport is one of only two bases where we lost money and we have lost money every year for the past three years we have operated that base.Why do we do it? It is part of our commitment to Ireland," Mr O'Leary claimed.

diverdriver

It would serve the interests of the region much better if people stopped trying to turn the issue into a regional dispute and instead found common ground with air travellers from the entire country, such as asking the obvious question as to why aircraft with <20 seats are exempt (when it is clear that corporate air travel is one of the biggest contributors to aviation carbon emissions on a per passenger basis)

I've heard that red herring raised before. Corporate travel is not farepaying. It's not public transport. Do you want to tax four friends who take their Cessna 172 from Dublin to Belfast? Because there is no difference between that and someone flying a BBJ?

As for the carbon emission comment. This tax is not a green tax. It's a money making tax. That's if you even believe in this carbon emission nonsense.

If it's true that Ryanair are losing money at Shannon. Then this might just be the spark that tips them over the edge. Don't believe O'Leary's comment that it's part of their commitment for Ireland. Any company is prepared to take a short term loss for long term profits. If FR undercuts their competitors at one base. It's an attempt to drive them out. Once they have the field to themselves. Fares can go up again.

nailbit

I need to book flights from Shannon to Faro next June, they are currently available on the website - but does anybody know whether these flights will be affected by the proposed withdrawal? Or how I can find out.

I have contacted Ryanair - and they were not that sure about the process.

Tabnabs

I see the UK government are now increasing their departure tax, I wonder will this mean more trouble for Ryanair?

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20091031/tuk-departure-tax-rise-hits-air-prices-6323e80.html

diverdriver

This thread is exactly a year old. When I read my original posts. I couldn't understand why I don't remember posting them. Then I saw it was 2008. Well this time FR are out because Shannon won't play ball and because of the departure tax. Shannon is going to be exceedingly quiet next year.