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Ryanair is due to make Leeds-Bradford Airport its 34th European base, with the low-cost carrier set to offer dozens of new routes to Europe from the Yorkshire hub. Starting in March 2010, the Irish airline will offer a total of 63 return flights a week to around a dozen top European holiday destinations. These include Palma, Malaga and Murcia in Spain, as well as Nantes in neighbouring France. In addition, Ryanair will offer flights from Leeds-Bradford to Pisa, Venice and Faro, with the airline revealing that it intends to create as many as 1,000 jobs through this latest expansion.

Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary wants passengers to stand on the budget airline’s flights, in a bid to pack in more people and boost profits. Passengers would pay less to huddle next to what have been described as “bar stools,” with seat belts around their waists. O’Leary has already held talks with US plane manufacturer Boeing about designing a jet with standing room. He is now hoping to get the go-ahead from the Irish Aviation Authority before ordering a new fleet. A Ryanair spokesman said: “If they approve it, we’ll be doing it.” O’Leary got the idea from Chinese airline Spring, which put forward similar plans — estimating they could pack in up to 50 percent more passengers and slash costs by 20 percent.

Pilots for Ryanair, the UK’s largest discount carrier, have agreed to a 12 month pay freeze after the airline threatened them with a 10% pay cut. After a round of intensive negotiations at the airline’s 31 pilot bases across Europe, pilots voted in favor of a freeze with productivity increases as the preferred alternative to a salary cut. As a result, Ryanair said the average pilot pay will remain unchanged over the next year.

Ryanair (Dublin), which warned yesterday that it would have to ground up to twenty (20) aircraft this winter, today said its may have to raise fares up to 5% this year as fuel costs increase. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said that his airline would never introduce fuel surcharges, even if oil reach $500 a barrel and continued to deny that the era of low-cost travel in Europe was over. O’Leary further said that fuel surcharges introduced by carriers such as British Airways were “completely unjustified” and were “just a scam” to take more money from the traveling public.

Ryanair (Dublin) announced today that it will begin fourteen (14) new routes that will include five new destinations starting in October. The new routes will operate out of bases in Bremen, Bournemouth, Glasgow, and Marseille. The expansion will bring the number of routes the low-cost carrier has to 660, with services starting to four new airports at Lille in France, and Agadir, Nadoe, and Tangier in Morocco. The carrier is offering 500,000 £10 one-way seats for travel in June and July to mark today’s announcement.

Photo: A Ryanair 737-800 departs Leeds in the UK. (Photo Copyright Graham Perkin)

A Ryanair (Dublin) flight bound for Britain has skidded off the runway at a Polish airport. Lodz Airport has been closed after the Ryanair plane with 170 passengers went off the runway while taxiing before takeoff; it is believed no one has been hurt. A spokesperson for the airport said that the Nottingham-bound Boeing 737’s wheel got stuck in soft ground after leaving the tarmac when apparently trying to turn around at the end of the runway. Strong winds had forced planes to use the full length of the runway. Officials closed the airport around noon while technicians prepared to pull the plane back onto the runway. The passengers were taken by bus 80 miles east to Warsaw for a new flight back to Nottingham. Other flights from the airport were being diverted to Warsaw, the spokesman said.

Photo: Flight FR1625 ended on the grass instead off at East Midlands Airport. (Photo Copyright Konrad Bodzak)

Ryanair (Dublin) is planning to ground around twenty (20) aircraft next winter to counter the impact of skyrocketing oil prices. The carrier is embarking on an intensive cost-cutting drive for its 2008-09 financial year as its fuel costs threaten to widen by €300 million, pushing its profits down by up to 50%.

A Ryanair (Dublin) Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway at the regional airport of Limoges in France late Friday afternoon. Flight 1216, from the Belgian town of Charleroi, failed to stop before the end of the runway and went several meters in to the grass. Jean-Pierre Limousin, chairman of the chamber of commerce that manages Limoges airport, said, “A build-up of rain water on the runway seems to have caused the aircraft to slide on the slick tarmac.” Of the 186 passengers aboard the flight, only 6 reported slight injuries.

Photo: The aircraft involved in Friday’s incident was EI-DAF (msn 29939).

Ryanair (Dublin) announced yesterday that although their horse, Mossbank, did not win the Ryanair chase, it will still give away one million free seats because they probably jinxed him. Ryanair’s Head of Sales and Marketing Sinead Finn said, “Sadly the Ryanair horse didn’t win the Ryanair chase. With one million free seats riding on Mossbank to win, he was jinxed from the outset, so we’ll pay out regardless to thank all the passengers who have made Ryanair Cheltenham’s favorite airline. The one million free seats for travel in April will be released immediately on Ryanair.com. We advise passengers to book immediately as these seats are free, no taxes and no charges, and will be snapped up in record time.”

Ryanair (Dublin) is offering to give away 1 million free seats to their passengers if the company’s horse wins at the Ryanair Chase horse race tomorrow in Cheltenham. If this should occur, the airline promises to release 1 million free seats until midnight on March 17. The free flights will include the cost of taxes and other charges, and are valid for travel in April between Monday and Thursday on selected routes. Mossbank, Ryanair’s horse, is currently a 3:1 favorite to win.

Ryanair (Dublin) announced today that it will begin flights from Edinburgh in September using newly delivered aircraft to a number of new destinations. The airline already operates services from the Scottish city to Dublin and Shannon and has previously announced the launch of routes to Alicante, Bremen, Frankfurt, Marseille and Pisa in April. Today’s announcement means that services will now operate from Edinburgh to Dusseldorf from June, and starting in September service will be available to Berlin, Bournemouth, Bratislava, Krakow, Lodz, Malaga, Palma, Poznan, Stockholm, and Wroclaw. A spokesman for Ryanair says that an estimated 1.2 million passengers per year are expected to use the new routes.

Photo: Ryanair operates an all Boeing fleet of 737 aircraft. (Photo Copyright Rob Skinkis)

Aer Lingus (Dublin) announced Wednesday that they had inked an agreement with Airbus to purchase four (4) more new A320 aircraft. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery by 2011, at which time Aer Lingus will have an all Airbus fleet. The airline said it received a confidential discount off of the total list price of $226.8 million USD. Aer Lingus faces stiff competition from Ryanair (Dublin), the biggest no-frills airline in Europe. Ryanair operates an all Boeing fleet of 120 737-800 aircraft.

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced its 26th base will be at Reus in Spain. It is located about 50 miles from Barcelona. It is planning to operate 12 routes radiating from the new base.

Copyright Photo: Boeing 737-8AS EI-DLK (msn 33592) rises from Leeds/Bradford. (Martyn Gill)

Ryanair (Dublin) has lost the lawsuit filed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new bride Carla Bruni. President Sarkozy, a former lawyer, decided to sue the airline after it ran a humorous advertisement in a French newspaper showing a picture of the couple and an added bubble message above the now Mrs. Sarkozy saying people could fly cheaply on Ryanair to their impending wedding. A French court awarded President Sarkozy his requested symbolic one Euro. However Carla received the full 60,000 Euros ($87,075) she demanded. Ryanair had vowed to fight Carla’s demanded amount and lost the legal battle.

However the ultra low-cost airline continues to make money but it is warning on future reductions in the profits. It is upholding its forecast of $680 million net profit for the fiscal year ending on March 31. However with the high fuel costs it is warning its yearly profit could fall in half for the following year.

Copyright Photo: The Cable & Wireless Boeing 737-8AS EI-CSC (msn 29918) holds for departure clearance at London Gatwick. (Antony J. Best)

Ryanair (Dublin) reported its fiscal third quarter (ending on December 31) profit declined by 27 percent to $52 million. This was the first profit decline in seven quarters. The ultra low-cost carrier also warned that profits could decline further this year due to higher fuel costs (it is basically unhedged) and lower consumer demand. Nevertheless the flashy airline sees the challenging environment as an opportunity. It intends to slash prices further and expand the number of routes in order to gain market share at the expense of others. With its cash reserves it is essentially willing to endure a short term loss for a long term market gain. FR is willing to put further pressure on other airlines during this difficult period. Bottom line, watch for more price wars and some airline failures that compete against Ryanair.

Copyright Photo: Ryanair’s Boeing 737-8AS EI-DWL (msn 33618) rises from Seattle’s King County Airport (Boeing Field). (Joe G. Walker)

Ryanair (Dublin) in a rare moment has written a letter to French President Sarkozy apologizing for any offense caused by its humorous advertisement with featured a newspaper picture of the president and his Italian girlfriend Carla Bruni. In the advertisement photo, a bubble comment is added for Ms. Bruni in which she states people can fly cheaply on Ryanair to the impending wedding. The airline promised not to run any similar advertisements (reports suggest the pair were just married today) and offered to contribute $7,400 to the president’s choice of charities (Ryanair certainly got more than $7,400 worth of publicity). However the couple sued the airline. President Sarkozy asked for damages of one Euro, but Ms. Bruni wants $740,000! The airline stated it will settle with the president but it will not pay this amount to Ms. Bruni.

Copyright Photo: Boeing 737-8AS EI-CSH (msn 29923) in the revised (larger titles) livery arrives at Stansted Airport. (Steven Gray)

Ryanair (Dublin) is in trouble with President Nicolas Sarkozy. The French President has ordered his lawyer to take legal action against the airline over a humorous advertisement involving the president and his girlfriend Carla Bruni. The advertisement features a picture of the couple with a bubble message coming from Bruni’s head stating “With Ryanair, all of my family can come to my wedding". The president was not amused with the intended humor. His office officially believes the image is “an improper use of the president’s image” (he ought to see what happens in the United States!). At any rate Ryanair is getting plenty of attention which is always its intent.

Meanwhile the airline is upset at the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) prospective airport price increases at Stansted Airport near London where it maintains a large hub. The CAA is considering options that could include doubling the passenger charges at STN.

Copyright Photo: Boeing 737-8AS EI-CSQ (msn 29930) departs from Salzburg. (Klaus Ecker)

Manchester Airport (Manchester) will be deregulated by the UK’s Department of Transport. However London Stansted Airport will continue to be regulated due to capacity constraints in the London area. Under regulation, prices are set which do not spur cost-cutting measures or capacity increases. Ryanair welcomed the decision but again called on the government to “break up the BAA monopoly” which currently controls 90% of the airport capacity in the London area. EasyJet also was in favor of the decision and agreed that airport regulation is flawed.

Copyright Photo: Eurocypria’s Boeing 737-8Q8 5B-DBR (msn 30720) departs from MAN with the terminal in the background. (Rob Skinkis)

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced its 25th base will be at located at Birmingham. It will initially base two Boeing 737-800s at BHX. It will serve the airport with 20 routes radiating to nine European countries. A further eight 737-800s will eventually join the original two.

Copyright Photo: Boeing 737-8AS EI-DWL (msn 33618) taxies at Manchester. (Martin Robson)

Ryanair (Dublin) has selected Bournemouth as its 24th European base on the UK south coast. In April it will base a Boeing 737-800 which will serve five new routes to Malaga, Murcia, Nantes, Palma de Mallorca and Wroclaw. It will be an expansion of the existing routes from BOH to Alicante, Barcelona, Dublin, Glasgow, Marseille, Milan and Pisa.

In other news, the company has been rejected in its plans to establish another base at Milan (Malpensa) due to the downsizing by Alitalia (Rome). Airport operator SEA (controlled by the city of Milan) declined FR’s plan to base up to 12 Boeing 737-800s at MXP. It wanted to serve 50 European and 10 domestic destinations from MXP. Due to the rejection, watch for FR to continue to build up its operation at nearby and cheaper Bergamo (Orio al Serio).

Copyright Photo: Ryanair’s Boeing 737-230 EI-COX (msn 22123) arrives at Bournemouth when the retired type was operated. (Antony J. Best)