Sir, - I refer to an article by Barry O'Keeffe (The Irish Times, April 25th) dealing with the submission of the tender for air travel by Ryanair to the Department of Finance and in particular with the following a comment attributed to government sources: "The airport Ryanair flies into, Charleroi, is about one hour from the centre of Brussels. Ministers often have a tight schedule and must be in and out of the city in a day. Charleroi is all right if you are a tourist and have plenty of time."
These comments are obviously based on a total lack of knowledge of the facts:
1. Ryanair has a better punctuality record on this route than Aer Lingus or Sabena.
2. Ryanair operates three flights a day, the same number as Aer Lingus. With the first flight leaving Dublin at 6.55 a.m. and the final return flight at 8.25 p.m., this schedule allows more than enough time to have a daily return visit to Brussels. There are excellent rail and bus links to Brussels from Charleroi, which, together with the efficiency of the airport compared with Brussels Zaventem Airport, makes the transit time comparable if not better than that at Brussels Zaventem Airport.
3. It is no surprise that, because Ryanair offers the most efficient, punctual and above all lowest-cost travel to Brussels, it has achieved the status of market leader on the Dublin-Brussels route after a mere nine months of flying there.
Ryanair is confident that its superior service, which can result in savings of up to 70 per cent against the competition's fares, will be recognised when the Department of Finance makes its decision on air travel by the public sector. - Yours, etc.,
Michael Cawley,
Commercial Director and Chief Financial Officer, Ryanair, Dublin Airport.