Ryanair Hails Cheap Flights Bonanza in Ireland
Cheap fares airline Ryanair has hailed a surge in demand for flights to sunshine destinations among the population of its native Ireland.
The carrier recently announced that more than 20,000 Irish holidaymakers have made bookings online for one of its cheap flights since 8am on St Stephen’s Day – traditionally a period where they have had to “queue in the cold” outside travel agents to snap up the bargains.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara revealed that the most popular routes sought by Irish customers had been to the Canary Islands – with some 75 per cent of bookings from Dublin airport going to Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Around half of flights booked from Shannon airport were also to Tenerife.
Passengers flying from the smaller Kerry and Knock airports had booked cheap flights for the recently launched routes to Alicante and Faro – accounting for 90 per cent of bookings at these hubs.
Mr McNamara commented: “Irish passengers are opting for sun routes from Dublin, Shannon, Knock and Kerry to the Canary Islands, Alicante and Faro.
“Bookings have been bolstered by former Budget Travel passengers who once slept out in the cold for days to book a holiday but have now switched to Ryanair’s low fares, booked from the comfort of their own homes,” he continued.
The surge in Irish bookings is good news for the airline, which is facing a less cheerful situation in Italy – where it has threatened to suspend all internal flights from 23 January.
Ryanair is in a row with Italian civil aviation authority ENAC over its new directives requiring carriers to accept documentation for check-ins other than passports and official ID cards.
Budget Airline News posted by 
on 31 December 2009
cheap flights, flights, cheap fares
http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/st-stephen-s-day-bookings-top-20-000
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