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The European Court of Justice will today hear a landmark case involving Ryanair and the rights of passengers affected by natural events such as the ash cloud generated by volcanic eruptions.

In March 2010 the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in Iceland, resulting in the creation of a huge ash cloud over Europe which closed swathes of European airspace from April 15th to 23rd, grounding aircraft and leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Ryanair has argued the closure of airspace went beyond extraordinary circumstances and that it shouldn’t be liable for associated passenger costs.

source: irishtimes.com

Ryanair has said it plans to hire 1,000 people this year, an increase in its workforce of more than 10%, as it boosts its fleet to 305 aircraft from 270. Europe’s biggest budget airline is opening new bases in Billund, in Denmark, Wroclaw, in Poland, Palma, on the Spanish island of Mallorca, Paphos, in Cyprus, and Manchester. A spokeswoman for Ryanair said some of the new jobs would be created in the UK, including Manchester, though details are still being finalised.

source: Guardian.co.uk

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has predicted that the airline will continue to seize business from rivals in Spain as the Irish low-cost carrier became the biggest passenger carrier in the country last year.

Figures from Spanish government-owned airport operator AENA show Ryanair shifted 32.2 million passengers through the country’s airports last year — 21.1pc more than in 2010.

source: Independent.ie

Ryanair will introduce a 25 euro cents levy on every seat booked from next week to cover the expected 18-20 million euro cost for carbon permits it needs this year under a new European Union emissions trading scheme (ETS).

Europe’s largest budget airline on Monday followed U.S. group Delta Air Lines and Deutsche Lufthansa, Germany’s biggest carrier, in passing costs onto customers.

Global airlines group IATA has estimated the annual industry-wide cost of the ETS will rise to 2.8 billion euros by 2020 from 900 million this year.

source: Reuters

Ryanair carried 4.8 million passengers in December, 5 per cent down on a year ago, Europe’s largest budget airline said yesterday after it grounded 80 aircraft to avoid flying routes made unprofitable by high fuel prices.
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The Irish company said its 2011/2012 winter traffic was expected to fall by around 5 per cent due to the decision to ground planes.

source: Independent.co.uk

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Ryanair has defied the government’s move to ban surcharges on payments to airlines and other firms by saying it does not charge its passengers any credit or debit card fees.

Airlines, cinemas and holiday firms will be stopped from imposing millions of pounds in “‘hidden last-minute'” charges on internet bookings. Treasury minister Mark Hoban said the government is prepared to legislate to prevent airlines and other businesses from imposing hefty charges on credit and debit card bookings that are difficult to detect.

However, the budget airline said in a statement: “‘Ryanair, the UK’s favourite airline, today confirms that it does not impose any debit or credit card fees.'”

Ryanair claims instead to charge an “‘admin fee'” per passenger per one-way flight. This £6 charge is levied when a passenger comes to pay and can only be avoided by using the airline’s own prepaid Mastercard. It states on its website that this charge “‘relates to costs associated with Ryanair’s booking system.'”

source: Guardian.co.uk

Thomas Cook Airlines has been named as the worst short-haul carrier by a consumer watchdog.

The company had the poorest results for overall customer satisfaction and the likelihood of being recommended to a friend. A panel of more than 8,000 ‘Which?’ members gave the airline a rating of 37%, while Ryanair was scored at just 38%.

The cabin environment of Thomas Cook Airlines was given one star out of five and Ryanair got the same rating for the quality of its boarding process. Both airlines were given two stars for their value for money.

Swiss International Air Lines was voted as the best short-haul carrier with a satisfaction rating of 76%. Aer Lingus came second with 67%. In the long-haul category, Singapore Airlines came number one with a rating of 89%. Air New Zealand was second (88%) and Emirates third (80%).

source: AP

Nearly 8,000 people have signed a petition against the ad, which shows a curvy Ryanair employee dressed in a bikini accompanied by the slogan ”Red Hot Fares & Crew”.

The carrier also produced a racy ‘2012 Cabin Crew Calendar’, showing female Ryanair crew in heels and bikinis.

The online petition on change.org also features outraged comments, with one woman stating: “‘Making staff take off they’re clothes to advertise air plane flights is sexist and objectifying, not to mention completely irrelevant.”‘

source: aol.co.uk

Ryanair has announced increases in the fees it will charge passengers for checking in baggage during peak travel periods.

The increases will apply to flights in the months of June, July, August, September and at Christmas.

Peak period fees will rise by €5 or £5 to €25 for online bookings made from December 15.

Ryanair will also increase its checked in bag fees paid at call centres and airports by at least €25/£25 (from €35 to €60) per bag.

source: rte.ie

Ryanair has pledged not to ‘’hike-up” fares after Friday’s European Championship draw, but warned that its lowest fares will sell out fast.

Ryanair advised fans who are planning a trip to Poland to book early to avoid the disappointment of the lowest fares being snapped up already.