This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7188963.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ryanair to open Birmingham base | Ryanair to open Birmingham base |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Budget airline Ryanair has announced a new base at Birmingham International Airport. | Budget airline Ryanair has announced a new base at Birmingham International Airport. |
| Twenty-two destinations will be available from the airport as a result of a deal which was finalised late on Monday evening. | Twenty-two destinations will be available from the airport as a result of a deal which was finalised late on Monday evening. |
| Ryanair will base two aircraft in Birmingham initially, rising to 10 over the next five years. | Ryanair will base two aircraft in Birmingham initially, rising to 10 over the next five years. |
| It is estimated that an extra five million passengers will go through the airport in the next five years. | It is estimated that an extra five million passengers will go through the airport in the next five years. |
| The airline intends to begin operating the first of its new routes from April while the other services should be up and running in July. | |
| Ryanair routes from Birmingham Barcelona, SpainBiarritz, FranceBillund, DenmarkBologna, ItalyBratislava, SlovakiaBydgoszcz, PolandDinard, FranceDublin, Republic of IrelandGdansk, PolandMarseille, FranceOlbia, ItalyOslo, NorwayPerpignan, FrancePisa, ItalyPoitiers, FrancePorto, PortugalShannon, Republic of IrelandStockholm, SwedenTrieste, ItalyReus, SpainRzeszow, PolandTrapani, Italy | |
| Ryanair's head Michael O'Leary said: "Direct international routes are fundamental to the economic development of a city like Birmingham. | Ryanair's head Michael O'Leary said: "Direct international routes are fundamental to the economic development of a city like Birmingham. |
| "The people of the West Midlands can now look forward to Europe's guaranteed lowest fares and best punctuality on 22 international routes with Ryanair. | "The people of the West Midlands can now look forward to Europe's guaranteed lowest fares and best punctuality on 22 international routes with Ryanair. |
| "This route count will more than double as a result of Ryanair's $700m (£356m) investment in Birmingham, bringing with it a significant increase in European visitors and jobs for the West Midlands." | "This route count will more than double as a result of Ryanair's $700m (£356m) investment in Birmingham, bringing with it a significant increase in European visitors and jobs for the West Midlands." |
| The airline's spokesman Peter Sherrard said the airport had snatched the deal from "under the nose" of another UK airport. | The airline's spokesman Peter Sherrard said the airport had snatched the deal from "under the nose" of another UK airport. |
| Many of the routes will be new to the airport and will include flights to airports in Spain, France, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Denmark. | |
| Peter Vella, the airport's business development director, said: "It's great news for Birmingham to have been selected to be a major base for Ryanair. | |
| "Today's announcement means many more new routes from the Midlands' premier airport and allows people to fly from within their region. | |
| "But it also means that there is tremendous opportunity for people to travel to the Midlands as well, for business as well as for pleasure." | |
| Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: "International trade is in our veins and the Ryanair expansion means more choice and more destinations." |