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Ryanair has made an unprecedented alliance with full-frills carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways to lobby for an extension of government  credit to airlines.

The budget carrier is among the leading members of a group of 10  airlines calling themselves the Aviation Alliance,  which is demanding an overhaul of Export Credit rules.

The Aviation Alliance wants no limit on the amount of export credits  extended to airlines, no increase in the fees for credit and no  reduction in the proportion of the cost of an aircraft that can be  financed.

The US and leading European Union governments, including the UK,  offer credit to overseas purchasers of expensive technology and  infrastructure, including aircraft, to encourage exports. Most overseas  airlines take advantage of these export credits to buy Airbus and Boeing  aircraft.

source: travelweekly.co.uk

European budget carrier Ryanair has once again invited controversy with the release of its ”Girls of Ryanair” calendar.

First launched in 2008, the annual calendar features female flight attendants from the airline posing in bikinis, often on board or beside Ryanair planes.

The initial launch of the calendar was greeted by anger from some, including the Spanish government, whose Women’s Institute sent letters of complaint to the airline.

source: smh.com.au

Ryanair announced it will cancel nine routes from Frankfurt-Hahn airport beginning next summer due to an air passenger tax agreed upon by the federal government this year.

The number of flights flying from Hahn will fall from 532 per week to 382, the Irish low-cost carrier said on Wednesday, as services to cities including Seville, Danzig, Prague and Gothenburg are slashed.

The controversial tax, or “‘ecological air travel levy,'” was included in a package of public spending cuts introduced by Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this year.

source: dw-world.de

Disgruntled passenger Robert Tyler has been ordered to hand over his web creation, ihateryanair.co.uk, to the airline, after running commercial ads on the site.

He set up the site in February 2007, specifically to criticise the budget carrier, which he describes as “‘the world’s most hated airline'”.

Ryanair took Tyler to the domain name tribunal, after lodging a complaint about the site in April. The airline claimed that the ihateryanair site took unfair advantage of its name and held defamatory content.

source: marketingmagazine.co.uk

The race to be the world’s biggest passenger jet maker has taken a new turn as Ryanair, one of Boeing’s biggest customers, hints at switching to Airbus, the US group’s European rival.

The Irish no-frills carrier, which said it was looking at ordering up to 300 jets, said it would be foolish to disregard Airbus as the manufacturer weighs plans to upgrade its best-selling A320 aircraft with new engines, a move Airbus said could cut fuel bills by as much as 15 per cent.

No formal talks are under way, and the prospect of such will seem distant to some, given the chilly relations since Ryanair abandoned talks with Airbus for a lucrative aircraft order it eventually placed with Boeing nearly five years ago.

source: FT.com

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary wants to ditch co-pilots as part of a bid to slash costs.

He accepts co-pilots are needed on longhaul flights, but says on shorter trips their only role was to “make sure the first fella doesn’t fall asleep and knock over one of the computer controls.

“‘It could save the industry a fortune. In 25 years with over 10 million flights, we’ve had one pilot who suffered a heart attack in flight and he landed the plane.'”

But a British Airline Pilots’ Association spokesman said: “‘His suggestion is unsafe and his passengers would be horrified.'”

source: Mirror.co.uk

A Ryanair passenger has been arrested after he complained about the quality of a £3.80 sandwich.

The man was detained by police when his flight landed after crew complained he had become disruptive.

But Henrik Ulven (52), from Oslo, said he merely asked for a refund after he bought a sandwich and was unhappy with its quality. He was shocked when arrested upon arrival at Rygge Airport near Oslo on Tuesday.

source: Belfast Telegraph

Ryanair’s first-quarter net profits have fallen by 24% to 93.7m euros ($122m, £80m) because of the volcanic ash disruption earlier this year.

The airline said the Icelandic ash cloud had caused it to cancel almost 10,000 flights at a cost of 50m euros.

source: BBC News

Italy’s civil aviation authority has imposed a fine of just over $4 million on the Irish low-cost airline, Ryanair, for failing to help passengers stranded during the disruption caused by a volcanic ash cloud last month.

The Italians say Ryanair failed to provide passengers at an airport in Rome with drinks, meals and hotel rooms. Tens of thousands of flights were grounded during a week of travel chaos caused by the ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland.

The Italian civil aviation authority said its own staff had to help stranded Ryanair passengers in Rome, and it cited 178 cases where the company had breached the rules

source: ABC News

Passengers have been warned they will not be compensated after being stranded by the ash cloud.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has insisted his airline will defy compensation rules for stranded passengers.

The budget airline warned passengers it will not be held liable for their extra hotel and restaurant bills after they were stranded due to the ash cloud.

Mr O’Leary said customers will be refunded their original ticket price but no more, a refusal to abide by EU consumer rules.

The airline boss met authorities in Dublin and says he will see Ireland’s Commission for Aviation Regulation in court rather than pay.

source: ITN