A Boeing 737 operated by the Irish carrier Ryanair, which is increasing the pressure on Lufthansa. Philippe Huguen / AFP
A Boeing 737 operated by the Irish carrier Ryanair, which is increasing the pressure on Lufthansa. Philippe Huguen / AFP

Ryanair to turn the screw on Lufthansa with more jets at Frankfurt airport



Ryanair plans to more than triple the number of planes based at Frankfurt airport next winter, boosting the low-cost carrier’s position in Deutsche Lufthansa’s backyard.

The Dublin-based airline will increase the number of jets at Lufthansa’s main hub to seven after initiating expansion there in November with plans for just two planes, the chief executive Michael O’Leary said in Frankfurt on Tuesday. Ryanair will boost routes from the airport to 24 from four, with the services to include business-oriented flights to London, Madrid and Milan as well as traditional leisure destinations.

Ryanair is taking advantage of its low cost base to challenge legacy carriers on short-haul routes. The goal is to effectively squeeze rival carriers out of the segment and offer feeder services to their long-haul routes. With the push, Mr O’Leary had to backtrack on previous commitments to never fly to the German financial centre’s main airport.

“We’re a bit of a pimple on the side of the big beast of Lufthansa,” Mr O’Leary said on Tuesday. While “we’re very pleased to be flying” from Frankfurt’s hub, “it is one of the most expensive airports in Germany”.

He said Ryanair is set to have the second-biggest market share in Germany by the end of the year, overtaking airberlin, which is halving its core fleet. Amid pressure from Ryanair and other low-cost rivals, Lufthansa has started to cooperate with airberlin and its backer, Etihad Airways.

Mr O’Leary today hit out again at Lufthansa’s plans to lease 38 Air Berlin aircraft, adding that the carrier has submitted an objection on competition grounds. “There seems to be no problem with biggest airline effectively closing down the second-biggest,” he said. “We think this is very bad for consumers.”

* Bloomberg

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UAE v IRELAND

All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi

1st ODI, Friday, January 8

2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10

3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12

4th ODI, Thursday, January 14

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS

6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Lady Snazz, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Rich And Famous, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Rio Angie, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson.

8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB) Dh 92,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Kinver Edge, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

Ukraine

Capital: Kiev

Population: 44.13 million

Armed conflict in Donbass

Russia-backed fighters control territory

Company Profile

Company name: NutriCal

Started: 2019

Founder: Soniya Ashar

Based: Dubai

Industry: Food Technology

Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount

Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia

Total Clients: Over 50

'Spies in Disguise'

Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane

Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

Bob%20Marley%3A%20One%20Love
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Reinaldo%20Marcus%20Green%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKingsley%20Ben-Adir%2C%20Lashana%20Lynch%2C%20James%20Norton%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A02%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Washmen Profile

Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures

The specs

Price: From Dh529,000

Engine: 5-litre V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 520hp

Torque: 625Nm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

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Match info

Athletic Bilbao 0

Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)

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