=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/01/28/f= inancial1337EST0166.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, January 28, 2003 (AP) Ryanair, seeking European edge, stakes claim in Scandinavia MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer (01-28) 10:37 PST STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Low-cost airline Ryanair said Tuesday it will start a hub in Sweden, challenging flag carrier Scandinavian Airlines System's dominance in the Nordic markets. Dublin, Ireland-based Ryanair chose Stockholm's Skavsta airport for the hub and will operate 30 flights daily to Denmark, Scotland, Germany, France and Norway. It will also start its first route to neighboring Finland, flying into Tampere, near the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The airline already operates flights to and from London and Frankfurt, Germany, out of Skavsta, which is 62 miles south of the capital, Stockholm. Ryanair's new routes will go to Luebeck, Germany; Oslo, Norway; Aarhus, Denmark; Prestwick Airport in Glasgow, Scotland; Beauvais, north of Paris; and Tampere. "We have a long history of operating through secondary airports and maki= ng secondary airports a big success," said Sean Coyle, a Ryanair director while in Tampere, 105 miles northeast of Helsinki. During its first year of operation from its new Swedish hub, the budget airline expects to transport more than 1.5 million people from Skavsta. Up to 200 news jobs will be added at the airport where Ryanair will base four new Boeing 737-800s. Ryanair's decision did not come as a surprise for SAS. "We have been waiting for this and we know that they are interested in t= he Scandinavian market," company spokesman Ulf Thorne said. "We feel quite well-prepared since we actually have lower prices than Ryanair can offer." In December, SAS said it would offer low-cost flights to several European cities, part of an effort compete with airlines like Ryanair. SAS, the joint carrier of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, said its as-yet unnamed budget airline targets private customers who want to travel inexpensively and simply to European destinations. The service, which will operate as a unit of SAS with four planes, offers low-price, one-way tickets from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. It is scheduled to start in March. The airline will also fly from Stockholm to Spain, Greece, Italy, Hungar= y, Ireland, Turkey, France and the Czech Republic. Similar service is being planned from Oslo, Norway. Founded in Ireland in 1985, Ryanair now operates 88 routes in 13 European countries. In addition to Dublin, its European hubs are at Stansted Airport in London, Hahn near Frankfurt), Germany, and Brussels, Belgium. The Irish budget airline and SAS also face competition from other local low-cost carriers. Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Matti Huuhtanen in Helsink, Finland, contributed to this report. On the Net: Ryanair: www.ryanair.ie SAS: www.sas.se =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP