Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, is seeking permission to fly to Russia.

According to officials, Russia’s Transportation Ministry has received a request to allow Ryanair to fly between Ireland and Russia. The document did not specify routes or flight frequencies.

Russia has proved to be a challenging market for low-cost airlines, with Russian low-cost carriers like SkyExpress and Avianova failing in recent years.

A number of low-cost airlines currently fly between Europe/Middle East and Russia, including Air Berlin, Germanwings, Niki, Norwegian, Pegasus, Flydubai, and Air Arabia.

 

In an effort to improve profits, Ryanair has announced it will be reducing its flights to Finland. The budget airline will stop flying to Turku for the Winter 2012/2013 season, and reduce the number of flights to  Lappeenranta and Tampere by 50%.

Flights schedules to Helsinki have not yet been affected.

Ryanair has announced five new routes from Cork, Ireland, to cities in Eastern Europe.  The new destinations from Cork  include Gdansk, Krakow, Warsaw and Wroclaw in Poland as well as Vilnius, Lithuania.

The new routes will begin on November 5, 2012, and operate at frequencies of two or flights per week, depending on the destination.

Ryanair deputy chief executive Michael Cawley was quoted saying that Ryanair’s prices will be 50% cheaper than competitor Wizz Air which already flies these routes.

Budget airline Ryanair has revealed it is planning to make a €694-million bid to takeover airline Aer Lingus. Ryanair previously tried to takeover this rival airline in 2007, but the deal was prohibited by the European Council.

A Ryanair statement read: “Ryanair believes that any competition concerns which the European Commission may have can be addressed by Ryanair making appropriate remedies prior to the completion of this offer and by significant synergies and cost efficiencies resulting from this combination.”

Ryanair currently owns a 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus, which is the flag carrier of Ireland. There is speculation that the government of Ireland will be eager to sell their 25% stake in the company, allowing Ryanair to takeover.

If Ryanair succeeds and absorbs Aer Lingus, it would control about 80% of the Irish market share for air travel.

Ryanair has launched its newest route from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Szczecin, Poland. The budget airline will operate two round-trip flights per week on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Ryanair released a statement: “Ryanair is delighted to celebrate the start of its new route to Szczecin in Poland from Edinburgh which will operate twice-weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays, making it perfect for a short getaway.”

One-way fares for this new route start from £29.99 including taxes, with additional fees for extras like checked luggage and meals.

Budget airline Ryanair has announced some surprising changes to their summer 2012 schedule, canceling routes and reducing departures out of Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. The axed routes are Liverpool to Milan, Rome, and Rimini in Italy, as well as to Almeria, Spain.

The reason for the cancelled routes in increasing taxes, and a Ryanair spokesperson stated: “As the UK government has increased Air Passenger Duty, yet again Ryanair has been forced to close Liverpool routes to/from Almeria, Milan, Rimini and Rome, from April, and to reduce frequencies on a number of other routes.

Passengers affected by the cancellations will be given the choice of a full refund or tickets on an alternative route.

Budget airline Ryanair has announced its newest destination will be Montenegro. Direct flights from London, Brussels and Milan are scheduled to begin in June 2012.

Ryanair flights to Montenegro will be seasonal and available from March to October each year. Ryanair has entered into an agreement with the Montenegro tourism board and agreed to operate flights until at least 2016.

Visit www.ryanair.com to make an online booking.