In less than 13 years, the independent airline, Ryanair, which yesterday announced flotation plans, can claim credit for nothing less than a revolution in air transport between the Republic and Britain. The cost of air fares has tumbled while the choice of airports and destinations has widened appreciably. All of this has been achieved despite little help from Government and a view in some official circles that the no-frills, low-cost airline was little more than an enfant terrible which could make trouble for Aer Lingus and which should not be encouraged. Indeed, the Department of Transport even refused to allow Ryanair to use jet aircraft in the early days, forcing it to use 44-seater, propellor-driven planes.
The irony is that Ryanair has been good both for the travelling public and for Aer Lingus. There was a time, in the pre-Ryanair days, when the national airline liked to stay aloof from the vagaries of the market-place with very high prices and limited choice. But Aer Lingus has benefited from a healthy dose of competition; today its operation is much leaner and it is much more responsive to consumer needs.
Ryanair is now regarded as a permanent fixture in the airline business after several years in which it appeared burdened by a mountain of debt. The remarkable turnaround in the company's financial position and its ability to carve a distinctive niche for itself in the Ireland-UK market - reflects very positively on the company's management. When Continental chairman, David Bonderman, bought in last year, the company was not just getting a new investor but also an endorsement from the marketplace. The company's decision to award bonus payments and special share opportunities to its workers most of whom lack the privileges of Aer Lingus staff is also a recognition of their contribution.
Ryanair particularly benefited from the air transport directive pushed through by Ireland's former EU commissioner, Mr Peter Sutherland, which has brought a substantial measure of US-style deregulation to the European airline market. Ryanair has consistently positioned itself in the vanguard of those who want to deliver the lowest possible fare to the travelling public and this in turn has brought substantial social benefits.
Tens of thousands of Irish people in Britain for whom travel to Ireland was once an expensive luxury can now avail of cheap flights from a wide range of British cities to Dublin, Cork, Knock and elsewhere. It is to be hoped that Ryanair's innovative £25 fares to France and Belgium will also herald much cheaper fares between this State and the Continent for both consumers and business. If so, this will help to ease the burden of our peripherality.
Ryanair's flotation, meanwhile, appears to have every prospect of success. The international airline industry has recovered well from the combined effects of recession and the Gulf War and it is growing strongly. But Ryanair still faces major challenges; there is still the distinct possibility of more intense competition at the discount end of the market from national carriers. Most of all, its future prospects will depend on whether it can repeat its success in the Ireland-UK market on a wider range of routes which originate, not only in Dublin, but at Stansted and at other European airports.