Madam, - In response to the letter from Mr Mark Gileran (July 18th), Ryanair does indeed support the Government and Seamus Brennan's position that competition reduces prices and improves services, monopolies don't.
Ryanair is living proof that competition reduces air fares and improves service to the travelling public. Air fares to the UK from Ireland are now lower in absolute terms than they were in the 1950s. Thanks to competition, Irish people can now fly to London for less than the cost of one day car-parking at the Aer Rianta Dublin Airport monopoly.
The break-up of the Aer Rianta monopoly and competing terminals at Dublin will allow Ryanair to introduce over 20 new low-fare routes to Europe. We will deliver up to five million new visitors for Ireland, and this will in time create over 5,000 new jobs in Irish tourism.
This is how competition works and high-priced monopolies like Aer Rianta don't. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL FITZSIMMONS,
Head of Communications,
Ryanair,
Dublin Airport.