Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has stated he believes his airline has less than a 50% chance of acquiring Cyprus Airways.
Last month, the Dublin-based LCC submitted one of nine bids tabled for the Cypriot carrier, stating it could boost Cyprus Airways’s passenger numbers by 500% over three years and return it to profitability.
Speaking yesterday at Ryanair’s headquarters in Dublin, O’Leary said he believed the Cypriot government was more likely to select Greece’s Aegean Airlines as the winning bidder.
O’Leary also said he expects a decision to be made on Cyprus’s new owner by the end of November, and added that Ryanair has already applied for a Cypriot air operator’s certificate, which will allow it develop in the region during the next few years.
O’Leary said: “[Ryanair] still plans to make it hard for any other bidder to land Cyprus Airways. Ryanair would offer very rapid growth, a retention of the existing brand, and would make it a very vibrant airline.”