Ireland’s Aer Lingus issued a forthright rejection on Friday of a takeover bid by low-cost rival Ryanair and urged its shareholders to snub the offer valuing it at 1.48 billion euros.
In a strongly worded letter to shareholders, Chairman John Sharman reiterated the company’s view that Ryanair’s offer undervalues Aer Lingus and said Europe’s biggest budget carrier lacked the know-how to deal with unionised staff.
source: Reuters
Europe’s largest budget airline Ryanair Holdings Plc said Wednesday it has forged a partnership with internet bingo group Jackpotjoy.com to enable its passengers to play bingo while booking their flights and hotels and finalizing car hire on its website.
The carrier said this will become a new revenue source and help create cash flow from areas other than selling tickets.
source: Earthtimes.org
Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, on Tuesday launched a regular flight between Frankfurt-Hahn airport and FlyBalaton airport at Sármellék near Lake Balaton in west Hungary.
source: bbj.hu
Ryanair will re-launch flights from London Stansted to Stockholm Vasteras next spring, three months after suspending the route in protest over the former Swedish Governmentâ??s plans to introduce an environmental flight tax.
source: flightmapping.com
Ryanair has been voted the world’s least liked airline because of cramped seating, unfriendly staff and delays.
Online travel service TripAdvisor said it polled 4,000 of its users on a range of subjects from airlines and airports, to worries and holiday hotspots.
Ryanair was not the only low-cost carrier singled out for criticism, with Easyjet voted the second worst. British Airways was picked as the best airline.
Ryanair countered that it consistently topped customer-service indicators.
source: BBC News
Aer Lingus has warned staff that it will make job cuts as the airline attempts to fight off a hostile takeover bid from rival Ryanair.
Dermot Mannion, chief executive of the Dublin-based company, told employee representatives yesterday that cost-cutting plans will have to be stepped up after Ryanair pledged to slash Aer Lingus’s cost base in the event of a takeover.
source: Guardian Unlimited
In Marseille the first airport for the low-cost flights will open. It will be independent and will be built near the “Marseilles Provence”‘s airport. About 3,5 million passengers might pass every day. Ryanair wants to the new airport became its only hub in France, like base to launch its challenge to Air France-KLM, which has already provided to have recourse and threatens legal acts against the Irish airline with the accusation of social dumping.
source: AvioNews
Ryanair passengers bound for a number of Spanish destinations will be limited to travelling with hand luggage only today.
Strike action by baggage handlers across Spain, the second strike in as many weeks, means the carrier will not accept checked baggage on today’s flights to and from four Spanish airports: Seville, Girona, Granada and Jerez.
source: Times
Ryanair has announced plans to begin operating two new routes from Dublin to Warsaw and Stockholm next year.
The services, which are due to begin in February, will bring the total number of Ryanair routes from Dublin to 71.
Meanwhile, the airline has also announced the introduction of a new online check-in and priority boarding scheme from the start of next month.
source: Ireland On Line
Irish no frills airline Ryanair today said it has not considered increasing its â?¬1.48bn offer for rival Aer Lingus but equally has not ruled out doing so.
There are a number of obstacles to Ryanair proceeding with its bid, namely that the Irish government still holds just over 28% while Aer Lingus’ employees and the Irish Airline Pilots’ Trust holds a further 13.2%.
Irish tycoon Denis O’Brien has also spent â?¬32m to buy a 2.1% stake in Aer Lingus and has vowed to oppose the takeover.
source: ShareCast
