Ryan air is bringing London much closer
July 1986
London within just three and a half hours - that’s the service offered to Wexford businessmen by Ireland’s newest airline.
Waterford-based Ryanair now brings the English capital nearer for the busy executive, with a one-hour car journey to Waterford Airport, flight time of 90 minutes to Luton Airport, and then a one-hour coach journey into London.
Ryanair price structuring also makes the service attractive for businessmen. A one-way fare from Waterford to London costs just £69 (plus taxes and charges), while the return fare is £119.
Servicing the route is a twin-engined 48-seat plane. It leaves Waterford Airport at 1.20 p.m. each day from Monday to Friday, arriving in Luton at 2.50 p.m. On Sundays, departure is at 5.20 p.m. and arrival is at 6.50 p.m.
A coach meets the plan upon arrival in Luton, and transfers to and from London city centre cost £15 (Sterling) return.
Luton departures are at 10.40 a.m. Monday to Friday, arriving in Waterford at 12.10 p.m. The Sunday service leaves Luton at 2.40 p.m., arriving in Waterford at 4.10 p.m.
While the new service offers a unique service to the businessman, Ryanair in return is seeking help from politicians, industrialists, and commercial interests in the south east.
Ryanair Managing Director, Eugene O’Neill, said in London on Sunday night that the convenience of a local airport equipped to international standards will be key for industrial development in the area.
Speaking to politicians, businessmen, and journalists who had been flown to London as guests of Ryanair, he said the project has the potential to produce jobs and wealth throughout the region, but only with the required support from the relevant quarters.
‘You can exercise great influence, individually and collectively, in persuading the Government to provide necessary funding for Waterford Airport,’ he said.
‘ The long-term benefits would be enormous for the area and I am quite confident that within five to ten years, the region will show a degree of development and prosperity hitherto unthought of in these days of economic doom and gloom,’ he added.