Strong demand for cut-price airline seats

Aer Lingus and Ryanair have reported "phenomenal" demand on the first day of seat sales, which has seen prices on key routes cut by up to 70 per cent. However, despite making its most dramatic cuts on transatlantic routes, Aer Lingus is still having difficulty selling seats to the United States.

The competing airlines began a price war yesterday in an effort to generate business. Mr Declan Conroy, spokesman for Aer Lingus, said early indications were that flights to European destinations were being "snapped up".

The Aer Lingus call centre said it had received in excess of 10,000 calls yesterday. "It has been very busy," said Mr Conroy, "though perhaps still not as busy as a good day this time last year".

The national airline has cut all its fares to Britain to £59 (€75) return and its return fares to all European destinations have been cut to £99. Its fares to the North American cities of New York and Boston have been cut from £324 to £169 return. The return fare to Chicago has been cut to £199 and to Los Angeles the return ticket price is now £249. All fares include taxes and flights must be completed by November 30th.

Ryanair, which was also badly hit by the events of September 11th, had already responded to events, offering seats on all flights for £9.99. In this latest sale, it is offering one million seats, on all its flights out of Ireland, for £29.99. Its offer, which closes at midnight on Thursday, applies to flights until May 26th, 2002, and includes all taxes.