A little Irish fracas

They like a little fight on the Emerald isle don't they? Take a look at this. AEA condemned a plan by the Irish Aviation Authority to increase fees charged to airline customers by 17% in 2010 and states that cost-recovery pricing was a "substantial contributor to the industry’s financial difficulties and an obstacle to recovery". The AEA also added that the €10 travel tax has contributed to a fall in passenger numbers of 15% at Irish airports this summer.

Not to be left out of the fight, Ryanair supported calls by the AEA to eliminate the Irish Government’s €10 tourist tax and to freeze airport charges at Government owned DAA monopoly airports. Ryanair also supported AEA’s condemnation of the aviation regulator’s decision to allow a 17% increase in airport charges.

Irish Aviation Authority defended itself against claims by the AEA that Ireland could become a "no-fly zone" as a result of an €10 government travel tax and an alleged 17% increase in the IAA's user charges. The IAA strongly refutes the alleged 17% increase, claiming it will only increase its en-route rate by 3.9%, which is "consistent with similar Air Navigation Services Providers in Europe who have received no government assistance".

So who is telling the truth? There is clearly a "€10 tourist tax" which is bugging the LCCs especially. But the 17% price increase is obviously open to debate until it is defined properly. Meanwhile it is good to see a spat.

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