SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of October, 2009
RYANAIR HOLDINGS PLC
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
c/o Ryanair Ltd Corporate Head Office
Dublin Airport
County Dublin Ireland
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F..X.. Form 40-F.....
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.
Yes ..... No ..X..
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________
GOVERNMENT
SHOULD
EXPLAIN WHY IT REJECTED RYANAIR'S DEC 2008 OFFER,
WHICH WOULD HAVE CREATED 1,000 NEW JOBS IN
AER LINGUS
,
WHEN
YESTER
DAY
THEY
ANNOUNCE
670
JOB LOSSES
Ryanair, Ireland's favourite airline today (
Thursday,
8
th
October
2009
) called on the Department of Transport, to explain why it rejected Ryanair's December 2008 offer for Aer Lingus
,
which guaranteed to double the size of Aer Lingus' short-haul fleet and create 1,000 new jobs in the airline over a 5 year period, when
yesterday t
he Board of Aer Lingus
,
which is controlled by the Irish Government and the trade unions announce
d
670
jobs losses
, as well as
pay
and pension
cuts in Aer Lingus.
Ryanair's
Dec
2008 offer do
cument for Aer Lingus guaranteed
to
double Aer Lingus' short-haul fleet from 30 to over 60 aircraft, create 1,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers over a 5 year period, while at the same time
reduc
ing
Aer Lingus' fares, remov
ing its fuel surcharges, securing
its
brand, Heathrow slots and connectivity
.
Ryanair's offer would also have provided Aer Lingus with a strong financial partner, at a time when
all
other
airlines
across
Europe are collapsing or consolidating into one of the big four European airlines led by Air France, BA, Lufthansa and Ryanair.
Since the Minister for Transport rejected Ryanair's
Dec 2008
offer, Aer Lingus has:
-
Announced record losses
of over €100m
for 2008.
-
Guided increased losses in 2009.
-
Seen
its
long-haul traffic
collapse
.
-
Seen its net cash balances fall from over €800m, to
less than
€400m.
-
Yester
day announce
d
over
670
jobs losses
, and pay and pension
cuts.
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said
:
"Yesterday
's announcement of widespread job losses and pay cuts in Aer Lingus is further evidence of the incompetence of Ireland's Department of Transport. Since
they
rejected Ryanair's second offer for Aer Lingus
last
January, the Irish Government and the trade unions have controlled the Board of
Aer Lingus
and have
spectacularly
mismanaged it. Aer Lingus' share price has collapsed, its losses have exploded, its transatlantic business is in freefall and now
they
have
announced
over
670
job losses
, together with
pay
and pension
cuts, when just 10 months ago they
rejected
an offer of guaranteed investment
,
growth and 1,000 new jobs in Aer Lingus.
"
The
Department of
Transport should now explain to Aer Lingus shareholders, and th
e
670
Aer Lingus
workers
who are facing
redundancy
why they rejected a
n
offer from the world's largest international airline, which would
have
doubl
ed
the size of the
short-haul fleet
and creat
ed
up to 1,000 new jobs at the airline
, while securing
the future of Aer Lingus, its brand, and its
connectivity
. The sooner the dead hand of
the Department of Transport and its
corrupt
Civil Service is removed from the transport
sector
in Ireland, the better it will function in the interests of consumers.
"
Ryanair believes there is a bright future for Aer Lingus, but it will never be achiev
ed
while it is mismanaged by a bunch of political and trade union
hacks on the Aer Lingus Board
".
Stephen McNamara
Pauline McAlester
Ryanair Ltd
Murray Consultants
Tel: +353-1-8121212
Tel. +353-1-4980300
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.
Date: 08 October, 2009
|
By:___/s/ Juliusz Komorek____
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|
|
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Juliusz Komorek
|
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Company Secretary
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