No Ryanair surcharge
BUDGET airline Ryanair, which operates eight services a week from Teesside, pledged not to impose fuel surcharges, as it reported a strong rise in profits today.
But it will ground up to 10% of its fleet this winter to combat soaring airport charges.
The carrier - which unveiled a 17% rise in pre-tax profits to £419m in the year to March 31 - said it would be more profitable to keep 20 aircraft on the ground than put them in the air.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary blamed an “unjustified” doubling in landing and handling charges at Stansted and Dublin airports.
He said the effect of oil price rises, which have almost doubled to 130 dollars a barrel - had been mitigated by hedging up until the end of March, adding he did not have “a bull’s notion what will happen to the price of oil”.
He warned that if prices remained the same for the rest of the year the best the company could hope for was to break even in 2009.
Meanwhile, it would continue to impose “discretionary” charges for baggage handling and check-in.
