THE war of words between Europe’s two biggest budget airlines turned ugly yesterday as easyJet accused Ryanair of resorting to desperate measures to fill its planes.

Ryanair has been forced to extend a discount offer after failing to find takers for about half of the million “free flights” on offer over Easter. Only 520,000 were sold.

The Irish airline has run similar promotions but only in the winter when demand is lower.

The current promotion puzzled observers as it covers the beginning of the summer when airlines are able to charge higher prices.

Ray Webster, easyJet’s chief executive, said: “It’s strange to come out with a discount offer in the summer when demand is higher. We sell most of our deeply discounted seats in the quieter period of the year.

“We are not seeing a problem so I can only surmise that Ryanair has a different perspective. They may have been very badly affected by the economic downturn.”

He dismissed Ryanair advertisements attacking easyJet as a tasteless publicity stunt.

Ryanair has a long history of provocative advertisements. In 1999 the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against a Ryanair advertisement headlined “Expensive BA****DS!” in a dig at British Airways.

The latest advertisement likens Toby Nichol, easyJet’s head of communications, to Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf, the Iraqi Information Minister. Mr Saeed al-Sahaf is pictured proclaiming that Iraq is winning the war adding that easyJet offers the lowest fares.

Last night Ryanair posted a statement on its website declaring: “The war is on Toby, and if you can’t stand the heat, get out of Baghdad. You can run, but you cannot hide from the truth.” Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said earlier this week that he had given up attacking British Airways because it was “a bit like kicking a dead sheep”. He said that he had switched targets in order to challenge the perception that easyJet was as cheap as Ryanair.

But Mr Webster said that easyJet had never claimed to offer the lowest fares. “They must be desperate because we compete with Ryanair on only one route, from Stansted to Rome Ciampino.”

Mr Webster said that Ryanair served small airports up to 60 miles from the cities advertised by the airline. EasyJet flies to the same airports used by British Airways and other traditional airlines.

Mr Webster admitted that easyJet’s average one-way fare of £46 was about a third more expensive than Ryanair’s, at £34, but said this was because it cost more to land at principal airports. “I can’t imagine that any of our customers going to Paris would want to fly Ryanair because they would land far away at Beauvais and face a 90-minute bus or taxi ride into the city.”

EasyJet, with 19 million passengers a year, became bigger than Ryanair last year when it purchased Go. But Ryanair, with 15 million passengers, is growing faster than easyJet and has just taken over Buzz.

Jim French, managing director of Flybe, the Birmingham and Southampton-based budget airline which announced a £500 million deal for new aircraft yesterday, said: “The cynic would say they can’t even give their seats away.”

Hundreds of Ryanair customers this Easter were also forced to dial a number costing £1 a minute to check their online reservation after being told that there had been a computer error. Disabled passengers are suing Ryanair because it is the only airline to charge them £18 for using wheelchairs. Ryanair provides no compensation or accommodation for passengers stranded when it cancels flights. Seats may not be available on alternative flights for several days.

Ryanair’s press office refused to accept phone calls yesterday.

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Hidden costs

• Cheapest fares are usually only available for early morning or late night flights
• No free drinks or food
• No allocated seats
• Luggage: £4 surcharge for every kg over 15kg (Ryanair)
• A £50-100 taxi ride to the city centre from an airport up to 60 miles away (Ryanair)
• No compensation for cancellations (Ryanair)

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