O'Leary steps up his efforts to keep DAA's expansion plan on the ground

One More Thing:With the aviation regulator Cathal Guiomard set to make a draft decision on airport charges in Dublin at the end of April, and An Bord Pleanála planning an oral hearing for Terminal 2, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has decided to crank up the pressure on the Dublin Airport Authority's (DAA) expansion plans.

O'Leary has organised a whistlestop tour of Frankfurt Hahn and Bremen airports next Thursday for Irish journalists, on what is described as a "reconnaissance flight to see how airport terminals should be built".

O'Leary has objected to planning permission for Terminal 2, a "gold-plated" facility that he says will cost €750 million.

The DAA has costed the new terminal building at €395 million, but when access roads, a new Pier E, utilities and other add-ons are placed in the mix, the cost rises closer to O'Leary's total. First stop is Hahn, where a 15 million-capacity new terminal is being built for €60 million. Then it's on to Bremen, where a facility that can handle three million passengers annually has been built for €10.6 million by Ryanair or "18 times less than the new terminal at Cork airport", according to the low-cost airline.

Guiomard's recent decision on prices charged by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), which handles air traffic control, give a hint as to how he might rule on DAA passenger charges.

In the case of the IAA, Guiomard decided that it could have a modest price increase straight away, with charges rising as and when proposed new control towers are built at Cork and Dublin airports. The smart money is on him proposing a similar arrangement for the DAA and Terminal 2.