Have Bergerac done the right thing?

[newswatcher]

Reported to be prepared to pay Ryanair c£370k/annum to keep link going.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2847573.stm

[Leclairage]

It beggars belief that this has happened. I fully apreciate the reason behind the Bergerac chamber of commerce for doing this, but I wonder why Ryanair simply dont charge more for the tickets (the figure you quote divided by the number of annual passengers isn't much) instead of this.
Seems to me that the low cost carriers, if this procedure is allowed to become widespread, will soon be able to hold a (metaphorical) pistol to many towns/cities they visit demanding money with the 'menace' that they will drop the route if the destination doesent 'cough'.

[newswatcher]

Leclairage, I think that works out at c£9/head carried during the past year, but not sure when the service actually started.

[Torquelink]

I can see why the Chamber of Commerce did it and it wouldn't surprise me if other regions which presently enjoy Buzz/RyanAir service did the same as their economies have become so dependent on the tourism that low cost services bring. The basis of such a subsidy has to be up to each region but I would have thought that the "gun to the head" impression could be mitigated if the subsidy was structured on a sliding scale against traffic/yields on the route - as traffic and revenues grow, the less subsidy would be paid. It's really just a private enterprise version of the US Essential Air Service programme. Also, I suppose if RyanAir said the offered subsidy wasn't enough, the Chamber could approach easyJet or other LCCs and get some sort of an auction going!

[MarkD]

Maybe these airports should have an auction...

Brussels is crazy to try and outlaw these agreements, as it negates the competitive potential of them against the larger airports, and thus hands the airport operators a whip-hand. But it should ensure they are done in a way that the small airport has more options and more control.

[Departures Beckham]

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