British low-cost airline EasyJet has entered the Republic's aviation market and will compete with Ryanair on two routes to London. Emmet Oliver reports.
The airline will fly to London Gatwick from Cork, Shannon and Knock from late January, it said in a statement yesterday.
There will be one flight each day from Shannon and Knock, while the Cork service will be twice daily. The Shannon service will also become twice daily next summer.
Ryanair operates three flights from Cork airport to Stansted at present and two flights from Shannon to Stansted.
Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary yesterday dismissed the arrival of EasyJet into the Republic. EasyJet, set up by Greek entrepreneur Mr Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has operated from Belfast for several years.
Mr Ray Webster, EasyJet chief executive, said: "These are our first services to the Republic, where air fares in many cases, have remained stubbornly high and have generated consistently strong year-round returns for the incumbent airline. We are bringing EasyJet's well-established brand to Ireland and will be flying to the right places at the right prices for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
"The great news for consumers is that all of these routes will be offered from Gatwick Airport in south London, which will attract thousands of new passengers and give a new low-cost option for those who prefer to fly from Gatwick," he added.
Aviation sources yesterday pointed out that yields from the Shannon and Cork routes are believed to be reasonably good. There is more competition on the Dublin-London route which is currently served by British Midland, City Jet, Ryanair and Aer Lingus.
Aer Rianta, which is due to be abolished shortly, welcomed the announcement about the new services.
"Between them, the new services will add some 900 seats a day between London and the Munster region - 600 a day at Cork and 300 a day initially at Shannon.These new services will provide a welcome boost to tourism and business activity in the Southern and Mid-West regions," it said in a statement.
