Airline passenger news and views

The king is dead, long live the king, goes the saying. So seems to be happening with the airlines that operate in Spain after Spanair, one of its main carriers, ceased operations last Friday.

In a press conference in Palma, Ryanair's president Michael O'Leary said that the collapse of Spanair is "good news for tourism and employment in Spain," since there will be more airlines occupying the place left by Spanair and therefore the traffic will increase and fares will be cheaper.

According to O'Leary, Ryanair plans to introduce 30 new aircrafts to operate in Spain, which will mean 1,500 jobs (500 pilots, 850 cabin staff and 150 engineers).

Spanish carrier Vueling also wants to take a share of the 12,5 million passengers that Spanair transported last year and both companies bet on Barcelona's El Prat as an international flights hub.

However their opinions about the the future of this airport couldn't be more different: Ryanair wants to impose its trademark low cost with infra-human services, whereas Vueling doesn't agree with these policies and wants to keep amenities like seat reservation or ticket booking through travel agencies.

The third party involved is the IAG group - Iberia and British Airways - which will also take advantage of Spanair's fall. Japanese financial experts Nimura said that this group will be the greatest beneficiary.

Irish budget airline Ryanair launched a special fare of €49 to help out Spanair passengers left stranded after the bankruptcy of the airline - a total of 22,000 customers.

Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said about their rescue plan: "Spanair's failure underlines the risk of flying with an airline that is not financially stable. Ryanair will help stranded passengers return home and ensure that those with travel plans up to 12th February can still travel."

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