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 March 2006
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- ________
RYANAIR LAUNCHES FIVE NEW ROUTES FROM SHANNON
TO BIARRITZ, CARCASSONNE, FARO, KRAKOW & VENICE
AND ALSO FREQUENCY INCREASES TO BARCELONA, MALAGA & MILAN
Ryanair, Europe's largest low fares airline, today (Wednesday, 29th March 2006)
announced five new routes from its Shannon base to Biarritz and Carcassonne in
the South of France, Faro in Portugal, Krakow in Poland and Venice in Italy, as
well as increased frequency on routes from Shannon to Barcelona Malaga and
Milan. The new routes will start on 12th October and bring the total number of
destinations served by Ryanair in Shannon to 24.
In Shannon today, Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary said:
"Ryanair's expansion makes Shannon one of the best served regions of its
size anywhere in Europe and is a major boost to tourism and business in
the mid-west, bringing 240 new jobs, 240,000 additional passengers and
EUR55M more tourism spend.
"From September, Ryanair will base a fourth Boeing 737-800 aircraft in
Shannon, bringing our investment in Shannon to over $240M that will
deliver 1.7M passengers per annum, sustain 1,700 jobs in the mid-west
and allow passengers to enjoy savings of EUR170M compared to the high
fares of Aer Lingus.
"These five new routes are available today on www.ryanair.com and we
advise passengers to book early as demand will be very strong".
Niall Gibbons, Director of Corporate Services and Policy, Tourism Ireland, said:
"Overseas visitors performance from Europe was the powerhouse of tourism
growth last year, fuelled largely by the excellent growth in air access
by Ryanair and other carriers. The 40% increase in direct air access
from Europe into the island of Ireland last summer underpinned a
record-breaking performance from the European markets, which saw
overseas visits grow by almost 20%. Tourism Ireland will continue with
its policy of encouraging the best possible regional spread when
carriers are considering introducing new routes and services. Our
ultimate goal is to increase the number of overseas visitors to the
island of Ireland in 2006 to 8.5 million and we look forward to working
closely with Ryanair and other carriers to help achieve our goal."
Martin Moroney, Director of Shannon Airport said:
"This is another exciting day for Shannon International Airport. The
further development of Ryanair's Shannon base is a great boost for the
airport and the region and further establishes Shannon as Ireland's low
cost gateway. We are also delighted to see Ryanair add additional
frequencies to their Barcelona, Malaga and Milan routes, as this proves
the success of these routes in their first year of operation. We wish
Ryanair every success with these additional routes and urge the business
and tourist sector to fully capitalise on this increased connectivity to
Europe".
For New Routes and Increased Frequencies - PTO
NEW ROUTES
Destination Days Fare * Commencement Date
Biarritz 1 - - - 5 - - 7 EUR4.99 12th October 2006
Carcassonne -2 - - 5 - - 7 EUR4.99 12th Oct
Faro - -3 - - - 6- EUR9.99 12th Oct
Krakow - - - 4 - - 6 - EUR9.99 12th Oct
Venice 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 EUR5.99 12th Oct
INCREASED FREQUENCIES
Destination Days Fare * Commencement Date
Girona 1 - 3 4 5 - 7 EUR21.49 12th Oct
Malaga 1 - 3 - 6 EUR9.99 12th Oct
Milan 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 EUR24.99 12th Oct
* One-way excluding taxes
Ends. Wednesday, 29th March 2006
For further information:
Peter Sherrard - Ryanair Pauline McAlester - Murray Consultants
Tel: 00 353 1 8121228 Tel: 00 353 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.
RYANAIR HOLDINGS PLC
Date: 29 March 2006
By:___/s/ James Callaghan____
James Callaghan
Company Secretary & Finance Director