No results, no big announcements, apart from the “new lines”, but a snapshot of the situation. And the man did not mince his words on the disagreements between him and the European institutions. We take stock.
News from Ryanair: the company announces nine new routes from Charleroi
The new lines (including a “controversy”)
To begin with, Michael O’Leary announced 9 new lines departing from Charleroi for this winter, namely: Cork (Ireland), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Gothenburg (Sweden), Kaunas (Lithuania), Lamezia (Italy), Reggio Calabria (Italy), Trieste (Italy), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Tel-Aviv (Israel). The latter should be active from October. Which is causing the unions to react.The security problems are obvious. And what about insurance? We are in a country at war. People don’t want to go. How do you know if Hezbollah is not going to send a missile? The war is not calming down, it is spreading.”says union representative Didier Lebbe (CNE). It should be noted that several companies have re-established connections in recent months, but tensions have recently increased further in the region.
guillement“Belgium is an important destination, but it is not the centre of the universe.”
“Zaventem airport will not benefit from any growth because it continues to increase its prices, year after year”says the Irish boss, who withdrew the Ryanair base from Brussels airport two years ago. Nevertheless, flights continue to and from the airport, without any staff attached to it or the planes “sleeping” there at night. The man nevertheless expects 10 million passengers to and from Belgium, including 8.9 million to Charleroi and 1.2 million to Zaventem, by the end of the year. That is more than 5.40% of flights bearing the low-cost airline’s logo, if we consider the 183.7 million passengers transported annually in the 2023-2024 financial year.They could have 5 or 6 million passengers at Zaventem, but they don’t want them.” he sighs.
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“He will never say that Belgium is important, but Charleroi is Ryanair’s golden goose”Didier Lebbe tells us about this. If tensions have eased between unions and management, the latter are demanding detailed figures on the results in Belgium, which the company refuses them.They generate a lot of money here but pay their taxes in Ireland…”regrets the unionist.
“Belgium is an important destination, but it is not the centre of the universe“, nevertheless slipped the CEO, cautious in the face of the union ambitions that await him around the corner.
“Ursula von der Leyen? Still useless”
The aviation sector has been rocked by numerous strikes by pilots and air traffic controllers, particularly in France, this year. That is why the company, which has experienced growth but less than hoped for due to several factors, is hoping that the Commission will act.
“The European Commission must act now and improve air traffic control services (ATC, Air Traffic Control, NdlR). “Air traffic control problems must be solved now!” he exclaimed.It will be complicated if the next European Commission is worse than the previous one. Nothing has been done! The Commission, and Ursula von der Leyen, are useless“, he said again firmly.These are just words, no action, no reform, no effectiveness.” he added.
guillement“It will be difficult for the next European Commission to be worse than the previous one. Nothing has been done.”
“France’s central geographical location caused a lot of problems, even if not all flights were cancelled”says Michael O’Leary. The reasons given by air traffic controllers and pilots? Lack of personnel, adaptation of the various legislations and European measures to support the energy transition of the sector.“It is unacceptable that thousands of flights continue to be delayed in Europe due to staff shortages and mismanagement.”he continues. “Customers should be reimbursed for cancelled flights but nothing is being done to resolve the problem“, he advances, with a liberalism with variable geometry.”This is the first time in years that we have no one to train,” he explains to illustrate the labor shortage.
guillement“It is unacceptable that thousands of flights continue to be delayed in Europe due to staff shortages and mismanagement.”
“You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.“, also launches Michael O’Leary about the European unions and the discussions at the Commission level.”In Europe, we have the highest costs in the world. We tax short intra-European journeys while long-haul flights from China, Russia, the United States, pay nothing when arriving in Europe. We are being had. And now, the commissioners are on holiday, the building is empty.“, continues the leader, who campaigns for “the pure and simple elimination of unnecessary taxes.”
“Boeing is a real mess. But they’re not the only ones.”
Among the obstacles to Ryanair’s growth, we obviously find the turbulence experienced by Boeing and the delivery delays, as was mentioned last March.
guillement“Boeing ? A shitty mess !”
“A shitty mess !” (a real mess, Editor’s note), even replies Michael O’Leary, while the company has ordered several hundred Boeings, including the 300 737 Max, particularly affected by technical problems.
“But manufacturers are all in the same boat. They can’t keep up with demand! They’re running behind. But it’s very hard for manufacturers’ customers at the moment. Airbus hasn’t managed to increase its production enough, for example, while demand for aircraft has exploded.“, says the leader.
If demand is exploding, it is to renew aging fleets but also because the number of flights continues to rise. Environmental considerations and carbon targets seem to have little impact on the sector. But that is another question.
Wizzair annual subscription
Michael O’Leary had already spoken recently in La Libre about the subscription offer for unlimited flights at 599 euros proposed by Wizzair, with one restriction: reservations must be made within three days of departure. Impossible to plan, then.
“It’s a scam! A marketing scam! Booking 3 days before flight… It’s just impossible. There will be cancellations, full flights… They can never be reliable. And if you take the cost of 10 Ryanair flights over the year, it will always be cheaper anyway!” he says, as a tackle.
Regarding growth prospects, for the winter, unsurprisingly, the “sunny destinations” will drive the Irish company from Belgium.
