Ryanair dismisses claims of price hike for boxing fans flying to Carl Frampton fight
RYANAIR has rejected claims it hiked the price of flights from Belfast to Manchester ahead of Carl Frampton’s next fight in December.
The Jackal faces Josh Warrington for the IBF World Featherweight title at the Manchester Arena on December 22.
Writing on Twitter yesterday, Belfast boxer Frampton said that he had been told local fans who booked to travel with Ryanair had been informed the flights were cancelled, only for them to be put back on sale at a higher price.
Ryanair responded to the Belfast Telegraph saying the claims were untrue, blaming the mix-up on a computer glitch.
“Some flights on this route were temporarily unavailable on our website due to a server issue last Monday (October 1), which was quickly resolved,” it said.
“Fares on this route have not ‘doubled’, but start from just
£9.99 (for travel on December 21) and we look forward to carrying thousands of boxing fans to and from Manchester for the fight.”
It had also been suggested that while the flights to Manchester started at low prices, the return flights to Belfast were much higher. Ryanair said the price difference was due to the time of year.
“Our fares are sold on a first come, first served basis, rise only as quickly as the lowest fare class is sold, and our flights are particularly busy that weekend, given it’s Christmas week,” the budget carrier added.