Ryanair announces capacity reductions at Stansted

Ryanair has announced substantial capacity cutbacks at Stansted for its Winter Schedule (08/09). Ryanair, which last Winter had 36 aircraft based at Stansted, will this Winter reduce that number to 28 aircraft (a 25% reduction), and an approximate 14% reduction in the number of weekly flights from over 1,850 per week last year to just under 1,600 this year. Ryanair estimates that its traffic at London Stansted will decline this Winter by some 900,000 passengers compared to last Winter’s schedule.

Ryanair states that the decision to cut back capacity at Stansted is for the following reasons:

1. London Stansted is the most expensive of Ryanair’s 28 bases.
2. The BAA Airport monopoly has again increased airport charges by 15% this year, on top of a 100% increase last year.
3. The failure of the inadequate CAA regulatory regime to control these unjustified cost increases or to persuade BAA Stansted to meet the needs of its low fare airline users.
4. The fact that oil prices have risen to $140 a barrel.

Ryanair confirmed that it will lose less money this winter by sitting these 8 aircraft on the ground, rather than flying them at BAA Stansted, during the winter when fares are extremely low, but oil prices remain stubbornly high. Ryanair confirmed that it had written to BAA Stansted in recent weeks offering to operate these aircraft/flights this Winter in return for a substantial discount on airport charges applicable to these flights for the Winter season only. Ryanair claims BAA dismissed the requests out of hand.

Announcing these cutbacks in London this morning, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary said:

“These Winter Schedule cutbacks, which are significantly greater than those of last Winter, show just how damaging the BAA Airport monopoly has become to consumers and the best interests of London and UK tourism and the economy generally. Like most monopolies, the BAA continues to increase costs at three times the rate of inflation, while delivering miserable service and inadequate facilities. Passengers continue to suffer long queues at security and passport control and frequent baggage belt failures at Stansted because the BAA refuses to staff or operate these facilities adequately.

“These cutbacks reaffirm the abject failure of Harry Bush and his inadequate regulatory team in the CAA who have repeatedly failed to restrain the BAA’s high charges, price increases or to encourage them to meet the reasonable requirements of Stansted users by developing the efficient facilities we need and are willing to pay for.

“When a regulated monopoly makes it more profitable for airlines to sit aircraft on the ground rather than fly them through the winter, then obviously the CAA’s laughable regulatory regime has failed. The BAA Stansted’s rejection of Ryanair discount plan for this Winter proves yet again why the BAA monopoly should be broken up and replaced with three competing London airports whose primary focus will be on stimulating traffic and developing low cost efficient facilities, which their customer airlines want and are willing to pay for.

“We hope that the Competition Commission report will in due course support Ryanair’s call for the break up of the high cost BAA monopoly, and replace the inadequate and failed CAA regulatory regime with competing airports and better still competing terminals at the main London airports. Monopoly airports and the CAA’s regulatory regime have delivered high prices and awful facilities. It is time we allowed competition to deliver where monopolies have failed”.