Ryanair said today it expected to expand its leading position in the Italian market in the coming years despite regulatory disputes over the past few months.
The budget carrier would be interested in slots that could become available at Rome's Fiumicino airport as the result of a planned combination between Lufthansa and ITA Airways, group chief executive Michael O'Leary said.
Speaking at a news conference in Rome, Michael O'Leary said Ryanair's clash this week with Italy's antitrust regulator (AGCM) stemmed from a dispute it had with companies including Spanish online travel agency eDreams.
The AGCM has ordered Ryanair to stop limiting or blocking the sale of its flight tickets by travel agencies.
"We think the case has no merit whatsoever," Michael O'Leary said, having arrived carrying a placard reading: "Stop OTA (Online Travel Agency) Pirates, Protect Passengers."
Ryanair said it would appeal any definitive AGCM ruling against it to an Italian regional court where it is confident of winning its case.
The company also plans to lodge a counter-complaint with the AGCM about eDreams' Prime membership service, which Mr O'Leary said charged passengers an annual €55 for discounts that did not exist.
In response, eDreams said it welcomed the AGCM action and criticised Ryanair's response.
"Such aggressive and bullish behaviour is aimed at deflecting scrutiny from their own questionable actions and underscores their anti-competitive culture," it said in a statement.
Ryanair is the largest airline operator in Italy but fell out with the government last year over fares to Italy's two main islands, Sicily and Sardinia.
Michael O'Leary said the carrier was not exploiting its position and had good relations with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration.
Ryanair expects to carry 100 million passengers on Italian routes by 2030, up from 60 million this year.
The Italian market will be reshaped if Germany's Lufthansa wins European approval for its plan to take a 41% stake in ITA, the successor to the now defunct Alitalia.
Mr O'Leary said he ultimately expected consolidation of Europe's airline sector to something akin to the situation in the USs, with three large long-haul carriers and one main budget rival.
But Ryanair had no plans to take part in M&A.
"We do support the M&A process across Europe," he said.
"We think Lufthansa should be allowed to buy ITA but with appropriate slot handover to protect competition in Linate (Milan) and Fuimicino," he said.
Ryanair expects to receive 40 Boeing planes by mid-July
Michael O'Leary also said today that Ryanair expects Boeing to deliver 40 new jets by mid-July, broadly in line with a revised schedule it has previously announced.
He said Ryanair plans to receive 35 plans from Boeing by the end of June and a further five in first two weeks of July.
The company was initially due to receive 57 Boeing MAX 8200 planes by the end of April, but a deepening crisis at Boeing had meant it would deliver just 40 jets before the end of June, Ryanair said in March.
O'Leary also said he thought a plan for Lufthansa to take a 41% stake in Italian carrier ITA should go ahead but with stronger competition remedies.
Ryanair is also sticking with its plan to resume flights to Tel Aviv on June 3 but will reconsider if the situation is not safe, he added.
