FIGHT EU BAN ON LOW FARES PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO LOW FARES

Ryanair website ^ | 2/4/04

[Buck W.]

Yesterday’s disastrous decision by the EU Commission in the Charleroi case has effectively banned low fares as it will force public airports to increase their prices and therefore air fares to ordinary European consumers will increase. This damaging ruling also risks the viability of many current low fare routes around Europe.

The complaint in this case was brought by a high cost airport (Brussels Zaventem) and has been supported by the high fares airlines in their attempt to limit competition from low fares airlines and to increase prices to consumers.

The only ones that will benefit from the Commission’s bad decision in Charleroi are the high cost airports and high fares airlines.

We are calling on all of our customers to tell your national Commissioner(s) and Transport Minister what you think of this anti-competitive and anti-consumer decision.

The Commission has completely ignored the interests of competition and consumers in this decision and has opted to protect the vested interests of their high charging national airlines.

Please contact your Transport Ministers and Commissioner(s) and give them a piece of your mind.

United Kingdom

Alistair Darling - Minister for Transport Phone: 00 44 207 944 8300 E-Mail: Alistair.Darling@dft.gsi.gov.uk

Neil Kinnock - Vice President of the European Commission Phone: 00 32 2 296 1800 E-Mail: Neil.Kinnock@cec.eu.int

Chris Patten - European Commissioner Phone: 00 32 2 298 1200 E-Mail: Christopher.Patten@cec.eu.int

Ireland

Seamus Brennan - Minister for Transport Phone: 00 353 1 604 1077 E-Mail: minister@transport.ie

David Byrne - European Commission Phone: 00 32 2 298 1400 E-Mail: David.Byrne@cec.eu.int

[Buck W.]

This is several days past "breaking" in the strict definition of the term, but I didn't see this EU decision posted anywhere else. Looks as though Brussels is really "lookin' out for the folks", doesn't it? This is the kind of government decision that Bob Crandall would have given his right arm for in the US. A more objective article can be found here: http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1073281535037

[Drango]

None of us are gonna fly to the EU. (except, perhaps for Spain, Poland and Britain). Eurotrash can twist in the wind for all we care....

[Buck W.]

"None of us are gonna fly to the EU. "

I agree. However, this is really more of an intra-Europe problem. The EU is forcing out the low-fare competition.

[longtermmemmory]

Is this supposed to protect the rail industry somehow?

[FreedomCalls]

Hmmm, I was unaware that one of my natural rights was "the right to low fares." Is that in the Ninth Amendment? Is it one of the penumbras or is it possibly an emanation?

[cynwoody]

Hmmm, I was unaware that one of my natural rights was "the right to low fares." Is that in the Ninth Amendment?

So move to Europe. Then you won't have to worry about the Ninth Amendment. Or any of the others.

[longtermmemmory]

This does help the government subsidized passenger rail industry.

[John Locke]

Your post is a Ryanair press release, and does not tell the whole story.

Ryanair is a low-cost airline. It is also a sleazy one. It cuts costs by finding loopholes in the airline safety rules (eg covering maximum working hours for pilots, frequency and thoroughness of inspections, ...). It also cuts sleazy deals.

This specific case is about a deal between Ryanair and Charleroi airport in Belgium. Ryanair agreed to move one of their main hubs to Charleroi, in exchange for reduced landing fees. They pay less than at any other competing airport, and less than other users of the same airport.

Sounds like good old free-market capitalism, right? Wrong.

The fees paid by Ryanair are less than the operating costs of the airport, so Charleroi is selling landing slots at a loss. How can they do this?

Simple. Charleroi airport is not a private company. It is state owned, and its losses - quite large losses - are paid for by the Belgian government. So in effect the belgian taxpayer is subsidising the Ryanair traveler, in order to buy votes in Charleroi.

The rules of the EU forbid subsidies to state industries that compete with the private sector, for obvious reasons. These rules are broken all the time. Big countries, such as France and Germany, get away with it. It seems Belgium is small enought to be made to toe the line.

So no, this is not an assault on free competition. It is an assault on state intervention detrimental to the free market.

[Buck W.]

"Your post is a Ryanair press release, and does not tell the whole story. "

Correct. That's why I also included a link to a Financial Times story.

[Michael81Dus]

What?? You basically say that you HAVE NO RIGHT TO LOW FARES?? You´re kidding, right?

Wai! Shut up! I know the reason why: IT´S ALL BUSH´S FAULT!

Maybe you´d be better off if you moved to Europe, yeah, but then again,.... we have no use for you. Unless, of course, you can speak fluently Arabic. We need some translators for our new masters, ya know?!

;-D

[fella]

Wesley Moach pulled this off for Taggert Rail.

[longtermmemmory]

as always, follow the money.