RYANAIR LAUNCHES 8 NEW ROUTES FROM SHANNON
BIRMINGHAM, DUBLIN, FUERTEVENTURA, KAUNAS, LEEDS, LUTON, RIGA & TENERIFE
Ryanair today (Thursday, 31st May 2007) announced eight new routes from its Shannon base to Birmingham, Dublin, Fuerteventura (Canaries), Kaunas, Luton, Leeds, Riga and Tenerife, which will start in November. From November, Ryanair will also increase the frequency of its Edinburgh (to daily) and Manchester (to 6 weekly) services. This expansion includes Ryanair’s first domestic route from Shannon to Dublin and brings the number of destinations offered from the airport to 31.
Announcing these new routes, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said:
“With Ryanair’s latest expansion at Shannon, 1.7m passengers annually will enjoy Ireland’s lowest fares guaranteed. This will deliver a visitor spend of €250m and support 1,700 jobs in the West. In the space of just 2 years, Ryanair has delivered dramatic tourism and economic growth for Shannon and the West as promised.
“Shannon is now accessible from Galway in just over 1 hour thanks to the new Ennis by-pass, making Ryanair’s 31 low fare routes at Shannon the low fare reference point for the whole of the West of Ireland. We look forward to delivering significant economic benefits for Galway and Connemara with these additional passenger numbers.
“Our new, twice daily commuter route to Dublin will allow people from the West to fly day returns from Shannon and avoid the M50 traffic chaos for less than the price of half a tank of petrol.
“To celebrate these 8 new routes, we have slashed €20 off all return flights and we urge passengers to book these lowest fares today, as these bargains will sell out quickly”.
In welcoming these new routes, Martin Moroney, Director, Shannon Airport, said:
“We are delighted to see further expansion of Ryanair’s operations, particularly the inclusion of Dublin in its route network, offering a daily return service. Galway is an important part of our catchment area for both inbound and outbound traffic, and we look forward to working with the tourism and business sector in harnessing support for these new services. Ryanair now carries over 50% of the terminal passenger traffic at Shannon airport and we look forward to working with them in the future as we expand our business”.
Niall Gibbons, Director, Corporate Services, Tourism Ireland added:
“Tourism Ireland, the organisation responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, has warmly welcomed the announcement of the expansion of Ryanair services from Britain and Mainland Europe into Shannon Airport. Both markets were key drivers behind the record visitor numbers to Ireland last year so it augurs well for the season ahead. This expansion of services will make it even easier for visitors from these important markets to explore the many attractions on offer in the Shannon region”.
Route Starts Frequency
Birmingham Nov 1 x Daily
Dublin Nov 2 x Daily
F’ventura Nov 1 x Weekly
Kaunas Nov 2 x Weekly
Leeds Nov 3 x Weekly
Luton Nov 1 x Daily
Riga Nov 2 x Weekly
Tenerife Nov 1 x Weekly
From November Ryanair will close 3 routes from Shannon to Bournemouth, Lodz and Rome while Biarritz, Carcassonne, Milan, Murcia, Nantes and Venice will operate on a summer only basis (Apr – Oct) to accommodate these 8 new routes.