RYANAIR
is looking to break into the holiday cottages market following a tie-up with
easycottages.com.
The
no-frills carrier has signed a deal to offer more than 4,000 self-catering
cottages in the UK, Ireland and France through its website.
A
Ryanair spokesman said: “We want to offer our clients flexibility and a range
of breaks through our website and the cottages portfolio adds to this.” Prices
start at £39 per person per week based on four sharing.
Meanwhile,
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary took another swipe at British Airways’ recent
troubles as the Irish carrier announced a 12% rise in quarterly net profits to
£30.5 million. He said: “As the recent BA strikes confirmed, the service
high-fares airlines provide when things go wrong is no different to that
provided by low-cost carriers, despite the fact people flying BA are paying
five to 10 times more.”
Despite the rise in profits, average load
factors declined by 5% for the three-month period to June 30 to 78%.