Montichiari Airport Launches Ryanair London Flights at Record Low Fares

London is close, actually very close: just take one of the two daily flights from Montichiari airport starting June 29th and fly with Ryanair to the British capital, Stansted airport. The cost is the lowest ever devised by an Italian airport: 99,000 lire round trip, taxes excluded. Yesterday, in the early afternoon, the flight was presented at Montichiari airport. An important step for the Brescia-based facility, opening up a range of international possibilities for a new level.

Montichiari is destined to become a significant hub for Northern Italy, not necessarily because the ambitions are obsessively aimed at this goal, but rather because it’s a matter of course: Verona is nearing saturation, Bergamo too, Malpensa… better to draw a veil. Ryanair’s gamble, aside from low fares, considers these premises and the catchment area, as the company’s sales manager, Michael O’Leary (brilliantly dressed in shirt sleeves and jeans), pointed out. The catchment area includes Brescia, not less than the nearby cities and a broad region that, over time, can benefit from Garda Airport as a safe, convenient point within reach.

The brief press conference featured official comments from Montagna del Garda Community president Mauro Bianchi, Ascom president Ferruccio Rossi Thielen, and Brescia Province tourism councilor Ermes Buffoli—all focused, in addition to gratitude, on praising Lake Garda and the tourist potential of the Brescia province. An omission could have been a mention that Brescia is Italy’s third industrial province and the leading one in the agricultural sector. A missed opportunity.

Then came the speech from Ryanair’s sales director, O’Leary. The main point: from Brescia, the airline expects to transport 140,000 passengers to London in 2000. Two flights daily. 70% of the seats offered at reduced fares. From June 29th to July 15th, at 99,000 lire, bookings open from May 3rd to May 15th. Travel is available every day except Friday and Sunday. And what about the future? When asked, O’Leary assured: the company has always cut costs and has never shown signs of increasing them.

Tickets are available at travel agencies, but mainly, conveniently, via the Internet. Website: www.ryanair.com. Currently, Internet bookings reach 50,000 per week. Ryanair is the largest low-cost airline in Europe, offering 45 routes across 11 countries, and carrying 7.5 million passengers annually. It is in its tenth year of growth, with high margins, and its fifteenth year of safe operations.

All flights are operated with Boeing 737-800 jets. As mentioned, aircraft land at London’s Stansted airport, connected by a very convenient train to the heart of the capital, with a half-price fare of 11 pounds round-trip, compared to the standard 22. Ryanair arranged this discount and also offers the option to buy train tickets onboard the plane. The trains run frequently, so waiting times are virtually nil. The journey to London takes 40 minutes.

Connections and International Routes

Ryanair also operates from Alghero and Lamezia Terme airports. In France, from Nimes; in Germany, from Hamburg (Lübeck); in Sweden, from Malmö; and in Ireland, from Shannon. All that’s left is to book and fly. Simple, isn’t it?

Egidio Bonomi