From Mr M. Cawley

I refer to an article in your newspaper of 27 April attributed to a Charles Mangion, whom I understand is the Acting Leader of the Malta Labour Party.

For someone who wishes “not to denigrate Ryanair”, Mr Mangion has selectively taken comments and articles attributed to airport regulators, a UK consumer magazine and the Advertising Standard’s Authority in the UK, all bodies which have shown significant prejudicial intent towards Ryanair and low cost airlines in general.

The Commissioner for Aviation Regulation in Ireland, Cathal Guiomard, has presided over massive and unwarranted increases in airport charges at Dublin Airport, while Which magazine has criticised Ryanair’s baggage and check-in charges, all of which are avoidable by checking in on-line and carrying hand luggage only, while at the same time ignoring the rapacious air fares charged by high fare airlines. The Advertising Standards Authority has brought itself into disrepute by claiming that Ryanair incorrectly advertised the fact that a flight from London to Brussels was shorter than a train journey on the same route, the duration of which was two-and-a-half hours against a flight time of one hour on Ryanair’s flight. None of these sources can be relied upon to be either fair or accurate in their assessment of Ryanair.

As the fastest growing airline in Europe, and having flown an extra nine million passengers in 2007 over 2006, with an expectation of a further nine million extra in 2008, we are happy to let the travelling public and our customers judge our performance. Since our arrival in Malta, Maltese tourism has enjoyed its first year of growth for eight years and I understand bookings for this year are at record levels.

Notwithstanding that, the real economics of the aviation business, particularly in the context of increased fuel prices, must be considered when we sit down to discuss our plans with the Malta Tourism Authority. While I am not prepared to breach the confidentiality of those discussions, suffice it to say that we have put proposals that will not only maintain the level of passenger traffic at Malta International Airport and the number of inbound tourists to Malta through the winter season, but there is an undertaking also to further grow that business in 2009.

Ryanair is not seeking “further concessions”, as Mr Mangion would have your readers believe, but rather has suggested solutions that will result in a win-win scenario for all parties.

As Europe’s largest and most successful low fares airline, Ryanair is committed to increasing its passenger traffic wherever it flies, but only on a sustainable basis. We are certain that our discussions with the Malta Tourism Authority will ensure that the benefits that Ryanair has already brought to the tourist sector and the general economy in Malta, not to mention the low cost access that we have provided for Maltese citizens wishing to travel abroad, will not only continue but be further enhanced in the coming years.

Michael Cawley

Chief Operating Officer & Deputy Chief Executive, Ryanair