Skift Take
Although Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary preserves the business is dedicated to broadening in Italy, he certainly appears similarly as eager to strike the federal government hard for moves he thinks about abstruse.
Rashaad Jorden
Italy’s cost cap on flights to Sicily and Sardinia is “illegal and unenforceable”, Ryanair group CEO Michael O’Leary told Reuters on Tuesday, including the budget plan airline company had lodged a problem with the European Commission.
Speaking in Rome, O’Leary said Ryanair might react by minimizing domestic flights to Sicily by as much as 15-20% this winter, shifting its focus instead to international paths to the southern Italian holiday island.
Last month, the federal government prohibited airlines from raising fares to Sicily and Sardinia beyond a level “200% greater” than the average rate for flights to the 2 islands, a move focused on stemming cost boosts over the peak holiday durations.
Ryanair, the largest airline operator in Italy, quickly spoke up against the relocation which O’Leary said had not been correctly thought out.
“They (the federal government) have no idea how their own decree will work,” he stated.
“What typical air fare? The average air fare in August, the typical air fare in November, the average air fare on a Tuesday, the average air fare on a Friday?”
“You ask these easy concerns and they don’t understand,” he included.
Industry Minister Adolfo Urso hit back, telling reporters that Italy “is a sovereign country and will not enable anyone to blackmail it”.
Development Strategies
O’Leary stated Ryanair remained committed to growing over the long term in Italy, despite the government’s moves.
“We have set out for financiers that we have 400 aircraft shipments over the next ten years and we wish to put up to 100 brand-new aircraft in Italy in the next ten years. We prepare to grow from 50 million to 100 million travelers in Italy,” he said.
He anticipates the company’s annual conference today comfortably approve a 300 Boeing airplane order.
Asked about an RTX Corp engine problem that will require some Ryanair competitors to ground some Jet jets for assessment in the coming years, O’Leary said he believed it would only have a short-term effect on industry capability.
“Over the medium and long term it will have no impact,” he said.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, Composing by Keith Weir and Angelo Amante, Modifying by Gavin Jones and Mark Potter)
This post was written by Angelo Amante from Reuters and was legally certified through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to [e-mail protected]