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Ryanair's Latvia route flies high

Monday, August 9, 2004 Posted: 1743 GMT (0143 HKT)

RIGA, Latvia (AP) -- Passengers thirsty for cheap flights to the so-called New Europe booked more than 8,000 tickets on low-cost airline Ryanair's routes to-and-from Latvia's capital in the first week of sales, said a company spokeswoman.

"This has been a very encouraging opening week for our Riga route, as bookings have been spread almost equally throughout all three destinations," Ryanair's Nordic region manager, Lotta Lindquist-Brosjo, said by telephone.

The no-frills airline announced last month it would begin flying on Oct. 31 to Riga from London, Frankfurt, Germany, and Tampere, Finland, after the Latvian government cut airport taxes in an attempt to lure more tourism and make Riga International Airport a regional hub.

It is Ryanair's first venture into one of the 10 new European Union member states.

Ryanair Holdings PLC, based in Dublin, Ireland, set its ticket prices for one-way travel to Riga at $6.06 from Tampere, $7.35 from London, and $9.71 from Frankfurt -considerably cheaper than similar flights currently offered by airlines flying to Riga. The fees don't include taxes and other charges, though, which are about $30 for a one-way ticket.

It was unclear who is more excited about Ryanair's new Riga routes -Latvians looking to travel cheaply abroad or travelers from western Europe eager to see sites in the expanded E.U.

Lindquist-Brosjo wouldn't say whether the 8,000 seats reserved in the first week were for flights entering or leaving Riga, citing company policy.

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said last month in Riga that the company hoped to sell 300,000 tickets on the Riga routes in its first year.

Ryanair's move into the Latvian market has had little effect on airBaltic, the country's largest carrier, airBaltic spokeswoman Vija Dzerve said. According to Dzerve, airBaltic flight reservations for November and December are fine, and the company carried twice as many passengers in July 2004 than in July last year.

"AirBaltic braced itself long ago to compete with low-cost airlines like Ryanair and planned accordingly," Dzerve said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/08/09/bt.ryanair.riga.ap/index.html