Set on becoming “Portugal’s biggest airline”, Ryanair officially opened its Lisbon base at Portela Airport on April 1, announcing five new routes to add to the six already available.
Manchester (England), Dublin (Ireland), Pisa (Italy), and Dole and Marseille Provence (France) are the latest additions to the list, which already include Brussels Zaventem, Frankfurt-Hahn, London Stansted, Paris Beauvais, and Porto and Faro.
Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Kenny Jacobs, said: “Lisbon’s new routes will allow Portuguese consumers and visitors to escape TAP’s high fares and instead enjoy Ryanair’s lowest fares and industry leading customer service.”
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary, known for his outlandish remarks, even told Público newspaper in London that the goal was “to become Lisbon’s biggest airline ahead of TAP in the next 18 months to two years.” He added that discussions were in place with Vinci, new owners of airport management company ANA, to better define a growth strategy.
The message was taken further by Jacobs, who stressed that the whole operation hopes to make Ryanair “the biggest airline in Portugal” in the long-run.
Besides the “advantage of lower fares”, the company said that the opening of the base, the third in Portugal along with Faro and Porto, will create around 900 jobs and bring approximately 900,000 passengers to Portugal each year.
Ticket prices vary and start at €9.99 for Faro and Porto, €19.99 for Brussels and Dole, €22.99 for London Stansted, and around €30 for the remainder.
