Manchester Airport will not ‘prostitute’ itself for Ryanair
18.08.09
Manchester Airport has revealed it turned down an approach from Ryanair to run more services because it was not prepared to ‘prostitute’ itself to the demands of the budget airline, TTG reports. Managing director Andrew Cornish told the travel newspaper that Ryanair was effectively asking to fly from the airport for free, and the airport could not accept terms that would ‘trash the market’.
Mr Cornish was speaking after Ryanair announced it would axe 9 or its 10 flights from Manchester, shifting them to other airports. The budget airline announced last week that it would set up a base at Leeds Bradford airport, where it will introduce 14 new routes and 63 weekly return flights from March 2010.
He told TTG before Ryanair announced it would axe the services: ‘Ryanair made us an offer we could refuse. We are not prepared to prostitute ourselves to have the market trashed. Whatever Leeds Bradford has done, it has done. We said no to Ryanair and that could have consequences for us for the winter, but if they want to withdraw services for the winter then other people will fill them.’
He added that the aviation market had recently been ‘littered’ with boom and bust routes that were unsustainable in the long term. ‘Routes have to be viable and make money,’ he said.
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