Ryanair’s Low-Cost Flights from Montichiari to London
“Making people fly is our answer to terrorism.” What might easily be seen as a slogan-therapy against flying panic bears the signature of Ryanair, a company famous for the unbeatable prices it offers its customers on routes between London and various European cities, including the «Gabriele D’Annunzio» airport in Montichiari. The latest offer is one of those that truly does not leave anyone indifferent: 9,000 lire for a ticket from Montichiari to London and another 9,000 lire for the return. Totaling 18,000 lire. Certainly not a lot for a trip across the Channel.
This expense is valid for each of the 189 seats on the Boeing 737/800 planes that take off twice daily from Montichiari towards Stansted. The price list issued on October 12 will remain valid for bookings made until October 22; tickets can be used until January 31. Attention, for fairness, the airline based in Dublin informs that this price is not valid on Saturdays and Sundays; in case of weekend booking, the passenger will pay an additional 150,000 lire, for both outbound and return flights. Also, the cost of airport fees, amounting to just over 50,000 lire, must not be forgotten. While the prices remain very competitive, customers should also account for these additional charges.
Honestly, for Ryanair, this isn’t a record for the lowest price; last year, they offered flights to London for 15,000 lire. In the end, the “low-cost” airline makes available a round-trip fare of 18,000 lire on approximately 400,000 seats across Europe (remember, the company operates at ten Italian airports). Sinead Finn, sales and marketing manager at the company’s London headquarters, explains: “Our goal has always been to offer low prices; and this year we already have ten percent more passengers compared to last year.”
Didn’t you launch this promotion as a response to the international crisis in air transport? “We have not been affected by the decline experienced by other airlines; only immediately after the September 11 attacks did bookings decrease, but they then started to rise again. We believe that offering low prices is a way to encourage people to get back on airplanes.”
How does Ryanair manage to offer such “rock-bottom” fares without harming its finances? Sinead Finn reveals the “made in England” recipe: choosing smaller airports for faster departure and arrival procedures and lower taxes; buying fuel well in advance to hedge against crude oil fluctuations; advertising produced and sold independently to media; onboard, aside from courtesy, no other services; and booking available only through the website (www.ryanair.com) or the central reservation center (199114114), bypassing travel agencies.
