Ryanair and DAA embroiled in fisticuffs

The gloves are firmly on as Ryanair and the Dublin Airport Authority circle each other in a spat that both sides have turned into a PR battle.

I was alerted to the difference of opinion between the two sides by a press release the DAA emailed to me entitled "DAA rains some facts on Ryanair's latest colouful parade". 

The DAA uses the press release to defend the charges at Dublin Airport that have got Ryanair in a tizzy and caused it to slash its winter schedule at the airport by 18%. 

The DAA's retorts to the Irish budget carrier include: "The combination of a sharp economic slowdown in many of [Ryanair's] key markets, its own failure to provide hedge against historically high oil prices and its heavily loss-making investment in Aer Lingus are the key factors driving this decision to consolidate seasonal schedules and not airport charges, which are paid fully by the airline's passengers."

That's fighting talk where I come from. And sure enough, Ryanair has hit back with all guns blazing with its own press release, in which it says: "The DAA is a high cost State monopoly, which doesn't care about consumers or tourism, they are more interested in increasing charges to airlines and for car parking, and producing useless and irrelevant so-called Fact Sheets."

And so the ball passes back into DAA's court: the question is, will they keep up this tit-for-tat argument or just sigh and agree to disagree?