BRUSSELS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Ryanair Chief Executive
Michael O'Leary gave a downbeat assessment of the short-haul
subsidiary British Airways may create, questioning in particular
its choice of London's Gatwick airport as a hub.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that British
Airways, owned by London-listed IAG, was considering
folding its short-haul operations at Gatwick into a new unit.
The company said it was working on options for the operations to
curb costs, but did not specify what its proposals were.
O'Leary, speaking in Brussels on Tuesday to announce the
launch of new winter routes from Belgium, told a news conference
he did not hold out much hope for what he described as British
Airways' umpteenth go at creating a low-cost carrier.
"If you were going to open up a low-cost carrier, the one
airport in London you wouldn't go to would be Gatwick," he said,
adding it was London's second most expensive airport.
"If you're going to open up a low-cost carrier, you'd go to
Stansted or Luton or Southend, which has lots of cheap, low-cost
and underused facilities," he said.
O'Leary said the company would fare better pocketing a lot
of money by selling Gatwick slots to the likes of Wizz Air or
easyJet.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop
Editing by Mark Potter)