Rivals attack Ryanair as MEP calls for inquiry
· Claims of overcharging after German TV exposé
· We need to defend ourselves, say competitors
Hans Kundnani
Tuesday July 11, 2006
The Guardian
Airlines yesterday accused Ryanair of surreptitiously overcharging passengers through hidden costs, which allow it to keep its headline flight prices low and claim it is the only airline that does not charge passengers for rising fuel costs.
Ryanair's competitors say the prices it quotes when customers book through its website do not include commercial charges other airlines include in their basic prices, and that the charges are significantly more than the amounts Ryanair pays to governments and airports.
The claims came after it emerged that the budget carrier might face an inquiry by the European consumer protection authorities. Eva Lichtenberger, an Austrian MEP, has said she plans to ask the European commission to investigate Ryanair.
Ms Lichtenberger said Ryanair gives the impression that certain commercial charges included in flight prices are in fact government taxes.
Ms Lichtenberger's call for a European inquiry followed an analysis of Ryanair and other budget airlines' pricing by a German television programme, Plusminus.
After another German television programme accused Ryanair of over-charging in February, the airline amended its charges for departures from German airports but left those for other European airports unchanged.
Ryanair denies it has overcharged passengers and maintains that its average fares, after taxes and charges, remain lower than those of competitors. The claims made by Plusminus were, it said, "inaccurate and untrue".
The programme listed six airports where it said Ryanair had overcharged passengers. At Dublin airport, for example, Ryanair charges a "passenger service charge" of €15.40 (£10.65). This includes fees for landing, parking and air traffic control.
"We don't know where they get that figure from," said a spokesman for Dublin airport. He said the maximum it can charge per passenger, including landing and parking fees, was €12.50.
A spokesman for Ryanair said the charges reflected the "ludicrously high" fees at Dublin airport, which it wanted passengers to be aware of.
In addition to government taxes, Ryanair adds a levy of €5.24 to cover the costs of insurance and wheelchair use by disabled passengers. None of Ryanair's charges are refunded if a passenger buys a seat but does not use it, even though the airline can re-sell it.
Other airlines say they are particularly annoyed about Ryanair's charges because it campaigns aggressively on how low its prices are.
"All of their charges are designed to keep their headline fares low," said Toby Nicol, a spokesman for easyJet.
Ryanair has previously been accused of bumping up insurance costs which, like the government and airport costs, are not included in the original prices quoted when passengers book flights through the airline's website.
German low-cost carrier Air Berlin, which competes with Ryanair on several routes, has also asked the German competition authorities to investigate Ryanair.
Peter Hauptvogel, a spokesman for Air Berlin, said that Ryanair had targeted it through its advertising and "we felt it was time to defend ourselves".
Ryanair has long prided itself on being the only UK airline that has not added a surcharge on aircraft fuel, introduced by others as the oil price rose. Last month, the Office of Fair Trading began an investigation into British Airways for alleged price-fixing related to the fuel surcharge. The inquiry was welcomed by Ryanair.
However, other airlines say that Ryanair is also hedging the rising cost but doing it less transparently. "It's a fuel surcharge in disguise," said Mr Nicol of easyJet.
· Claims of overcharging after German TV exposé
· We need to defend ourselves, say competitors
Hans Kundnani
Tuesday July 11, 2006
The Guardian
Airlines yesterday accused Ryanair of surreptitiously overcharging passengers through hidden costs, which allow it to keep its headline flight prices low and claim it is the only airline that does not charge passengers for rising fuel costs.
Ryanair's competitors say the prices it quotes when customers book through its website do not include commercial charges other airlines include in their basic prices, and that the charges are significantly more than the amounts Ryanair pays to governments and airports.
The claims came after it emerged that the budget carrier might face an inquiry by the European consumer protection authorities. Eva Lichtenberger, an Austrian MEP, has said she plans to ask the European commission to investigate Ryanair.
Ms Lichtenberger said Ryanair gives the impression that certain commercial charges included in flight prices are in fact government taxes.
Ms Lichtenberger's call for a European inquiry followed an analysis of Ryanair and other budget airlines' pricing by a German television programme, Plusminus.
After another German television programme accused Ryanair of over-charging in February, the airline amended its charges for departures from German airports but left those for other European airports unchanged.
Ryanair denies it has overcharged passengers and maintains that its average fares, after taxes and charges, remain lower than those of competitors. The claims made by Plusminus were, it said, "inaccurate and untrue".
The programme listed six airports where it said Ryanair had overcharged passengers. At Dublin airport, for example, Ryanair charges a "passenger service charge" of €15.40 (£10.65). This includes fees for landing, parking and air traffic control.
"We don't know where they get that figure from," said a spokesman for Dublin airport. He said the maximum it can charge per passenger, including landing and parking fees, was €12.50.
A spokesman for Ryanair said the charges reflected the "ludicrously high" fees at Dublin airport, which it wanted passengers to be aware of.
In addition to government taxes, Ryanair adds a levy of €5.24 to cover the costs of insurance and wheelchair use by disabled passengers. None of Ryanair's charges are refunded if a passenger buys a seat but does not use it, even though the airline can re-sell it.
Other airlines say they are particularly annoyed about Ryanair's charges because it campaigns aggressively on how low its prices are.
"All of their charges are designed to keep their headline fares low," said Toby Nicol, a spokesman for easyJet.
Ryanair has previously been accused of bumping up insurance costs which, like the government and airport costs, are not included in the original prices quoted when passengers book flights through the airline's website.
German low-cost carrier Air Berlin, which competes with Ryanair on several routes, has also asked the German competition authorities to investigate Ryanair.
Peter Hauptvogel, a spokesman for Air Berlin, said that Ryanair had targeted it through its advertising and "we felt it was time to defend ourselves".
Ryanair has long prided itself on being the only UK airline that has not added a surcharge on aircraft fuel, introduced by others as the oil price rose. Last month, the Office of Fair Trading began an investigation into British Airways for alleged price-fixing related to the fuel surcharge. The inquiry was welcomed by Ryanair.
However, other airlines say that Ryanair is also hedging the rising cost but doing it less transparently. "It's a fuel surcharge in disguise," said Mr Nicol of easyJet.
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