“Stansted will be the engine of growth for this region and for Suffolk in the years ahead,” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told over 200 Suffolk chamber members at a lunch in Bury. The airline plans to grow by 40 per cent in the next decade with a quarter of it at Stansted Airport. The low-cost airline is the market leader in Spain, Italy, Belgium, Ireland and Poland and says it is the most searched airline website in the UK.
The airline is ordering up to 200 Boeing Max 737-200 ‘game changer’ planes, to be delivered from 2019, that will have more leg room, spacious interiors and better fuel emission. Michael O’Leary has also invested in Suffolk personally, buying a horse racing stables near Newmarket.
Sarah Howard, president of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, said: “The business world is becoming smaller and smaller and more of our firms than ever are needing to travel across the EU to do business and therefore Ryanair are a potential important part of their plans.”
“Our members and local businesses were especially pleased to hear about the new Business Plus service Ryanair are offering,” said John Dugmore, chief executive of Suffolk Chamber. “Exporting drives a growing number of firms across Suffolk and the need to have a low cost business-friendly airline available locally is paramount and which is why Michael was received well in Bury.”
"I am a passionate believer in providing the lowest price, having the lowest costs and listening to your customers,” Michael O’Leary said. “That is what Ryanair does and they are some of the reasons why we are so successful.”
Photo (l to r): Chamber chief executive John Dugmore, Chamber president Sarah Howard, Stansted managing director Andrew Harrison and Michael O'Leary.
