Budget airlines primed for land grab as flag carriers face change of flight path
Ready for take-off: Ryanair and its fellow low-cost carriers are primed for European expansion, probably at the expense of flag carriers like Air France and Lufthansa. (Getty Images)
After nearly a year of intense disruption, one could be forgiven for expecting even Ryanair’s perennially bullish boss Michael O’Leary to be a little downcast about the state of his industry.
But despite the near daily cries of anguish issuing from the airlines sector, the Irishman’s eyes are fixed firmly on the future.
Speaking after the release of the carrier’s third quarter results, he said: “We’ll emerge with a much-lower cost base and where there is significantly reduced capacity, we’ll look to take advantage.
By Lewis Harper2021-01-27T11:54:00+00:00
The chief executives of several UK airlines have issued a joint call for the country’s government to outline an “urgent roadmap” for the reopening of air travel, while at the same time demanding an aviation support package “that recognises the urgency and scale of the danger now facing our sector”.
Their letter to UK prime minister Boris Johnson, dated 26 January and issued via industry body Airlines UK, comes amid reports his government will today announce a requirement that travellers from certain ‘high-risk” countries must quarantine in hotels on arrival in the country, at their own expense.