Complaint to EU Comm on Air F

Ryanair Holdings PLC
13 June 2006



       Ryanair Responds to Latest Abusive Attempt by Air France to Block

                             Competition in France

Ryanair, Europe's largest low fares airline, today (Tuesday, 13th June 2006)
announced that it has filed a further complaint to the European Commission on
Air France's latest attempt to block competition from low fares airlines in
France. Last month, Ryanair announced that it would base 2 new aircraft at
Marseille Airport, which will serve 13 routes and deliver almost 1 million
additional passengers annually to the airport, which equates to a €100 million
in savings to French consumers and visitors to France off the high fares of Air
France. However, Air France announced today that it had filed an action in the
French Conseille d'Etat against Marseille Airport in an attempt to block
Ryanair's use of this new low cost terminal - despite the fact that the tariff
for using this facility is published and has been agreed by the French Civil
Aviation Authority.

Commenting today on this latest abuse by Air France, Ryanair's Head of
Regulatory Affairs, Jim Callaghan, said:

        'This is the latest in a long line of abuses by Air France to protect
        their strangle-hold on the French market:

 1. Air France succeeded in blocking competition from Ryanair on the London to
    Strasbourg route. The result has been predictable, Air France is again
    ripping off consumers with €800 return fares and passenger numbers have
    plummeted from 20,000 per month to just over 2,000.

 2. Air France also blocked competition from easyJet in Bale-Mulhouse by again
    resorting to the local courts.

 3. Now Air France is trying to prevent Ryanair from using lower cost facilities
    in Marseille Provence Airport, which were offered to Air France but were
    rejected.

        'Ryanair has therefore today submitted a further complaint to the
        European Commission against Air France on the basis of an abuse of
        dominance under the European competition rules. In no other European
        member state does the national airline hold such a dominant position and
        engage in such abusive practices in order to block competition.

        'Last month, Ryanair filed a complaint to the European Commission
        regarding approximately €1 billion worth of state aid that Air France
        has received from the French Government in the form of subsidised
        domestic landing and passenger fees. This illegal state aid has enabled
        Air France to dominate the French market and force smaller competitors
        off the market.

        'If Jean-Cyrille Spinetta is truly concerned about 'equality', then he
        should:

 1. have accepted Marseille Airport's offer of lower cost, efficient facilities
    instead of abusing the French Court system to prevent competition.

 2. stop ripping off French consumers and start charging the same fares as
    Ryanair.

 3. start paying the same landing fees on domestic traffic as Ryanair has to pay
    on international flights instead of receiving illegal subsidies from the
    French Government.

        'We are calling on the European Commission to put an end to Air France's
        abusive practices in the French market and to promote competition from
        low fares airlines, which have been successful in bringing low fares,
        competition and choice to every other European Member State, except
        France!'

  Ends.                                               Tuesday, 13th June 2006

  For reference: 
  Peter Sherrard - Ryanair             Pauline McAlester - Murray Consultants

  Tel: [phone]                  Tel: [phone]

  Editor's Note:

  Ryanair has announced 13 routes to commence from Marseille Airport in
  November 2006 - Brussels Charleroi; Eindhoven; Karlsruhe Baden;
  Frankfurt Hahn; London Stansted; Rome Ciampino; Dublin; Glasgow
  Prestwick; Porto; Fez (Morocco); Marracech (Morocco); Oujda (Morocco); 
  and Oslo Torp.




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