Ryanair and Aer Lingus war of words over Heathrow flights
15.01.08
Ryanair and Aer Lingus had a bitter war of words yesterday over passenger numbers on the Irish flag carriers maiden voyage from Belfast International Airport to Heathrow. . Ryanair, which owns just under 30% of its Irish rival, also sent staff to Belfast International yesterday to offer free flights to all Aer Lingus Belfast - Heathrow passengers who might have 'mistakenly thought that it was a low fares airline.'
The two Irish airlines have clashed regularly since Aer Lingus took the decision to scrap its flights between Shannon and Heathrow in order to use its slots at the busy London airport for a shuttle service to Belfast. Ryanair even attempt to force Aer Lingus to hold an extraordinary general meeting to vote on the decision - twice.
Yesterday, as Aer Lingus officials gathered in Belfast to celebrate the launch of the Heathrow service, Ryanair issued a press statement alleging that Aer Lingus' had failed to fill seats on their Heathrow-bound planes. According to Ryanair, just 39 seats were filled on the first flight, meaning more than three quarters of the 174-seater plane was empty.
The statement said: 'This was not just Aer Lingus' inaugural London flight, but also the peak Monday morning business flight from Belfast to London. This tiny load is a disaster.' However, Aer Lingus corporate affairs director, Enda Corneille, rejected Ryanair's figures as 'completely inaccurate.'
She said: 'The first plane was packed to the rafters and the later ones were virtually full as well. The rest of the statement is just total baloney from Ryanair. We must really be hitting them or they wouldn't be coming out with this kind of stuff.'
Ryanair's head of communications Peter Sherrard later clarified that Ryanair's numbers were based on the passengers it had seen checking in at the airport. Asked whether additional passengers could have checked-in online, he admitted that 'possibly a few passengers would have.'
Meanwhile the Shannon region is nursing another blow to connectivity after Ryanair quietly cancelled its Shannon to Dublin route yesterday. A Ryanair spokesman said: 'We cancelled it because passenger numbers were below the network average, it's as simple as that.' Who was it competing with on the route? Aer Lingus.
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