O’Leary looks east for Ryanair opportunity

Still in aviation, despite Russia's conflict with Ukraine and the ensuing tensions with the EU and US, Ryanair is still keen on flying from the Republic to destinations such as Moscow and St Petersburg, according to chief executive Michael O'Leary, who stepped back into the limelight in a big way this week.

However, he said yesterday that these routes would run at a loss for up to three years while the airline is building up the business. O'Leary argued yesterday that State agency, Tourism Ireland, should row in and aid the company in its marketing in Russia. The airline has already spokento the agency, which O'Leary noted bitterly planned to open an office in China, "even though there are no flights", but was told that there was no money.

Whatever the outcome of its wrangling with the agency, it’s clear that Ryanair is looking to the east for expansion and believes that there are markets waiting to be tapped from Russia down to the Mediterranean.

One of the key attractions of taking over Cyprus Airways is that it has an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), a licence needed to run an airline.

This would open up a range of non-EU territories to Ryanair that may not be covered by its Irish AOC, as the Republic may not have completed the necessary agreements with them.

Many of them are in the region that the company has targeted for growth. O’Leary confirmed yesterday that Ryanair has applied for its own Cypriot AOC, so even if it does not take over Cyprus Airways, it is still planning to put down roots in the country, which it sees as a potential gateway to these markets.

Its experience in the area so far has been positive. Passenger numbers there have grown from zero four years ago to 4.5 million. Presumably, it belives that it can multiply this performance with a more substantial presence. On that basis, Cyprus may turn out to be just the first step into the east.