Ranting and raving

2 February 2004 By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The nofrills airline topped off a disastrous week by threatening to sue its rivals and fighting a case against a disabled man. This smacks of an airline in desperation. Ryanair ought to cool it.

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Ryanair said it was considering launching legal action against other airlines that receive subsidies from state airports if the European Commission rules its Charleroi airport discounts were illegal. Jim Callaghan, Ryanair's head of regulatory affairs, told Reuters We're just trying to demonstrate very graphically what the wide ramifications are for those airlines and airports who don't understand what the implications are.

Meanwhile, a disabled man in Britain won a case against the nofrills airline after it charged him £18 for use of a wheelchair at Stansted airport. Ryanair said it would appeal against the defective judgement. It argued that BAA, the airport operator behind Stansted, should pay for the service, as do 80 out of the 86 airports it flies to. Ryanair said it would begin charging an extra £0.50 per passenger at Stansted, Gatwick, Dublin and Shannon airports to meet the cost of wheelchair assistance.

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