Ryanair announced this week that its first domestic flights within France will commence in May. Ryanair will fly from Beauvais, an airport roughly 85 km (52 miles) north of Paris, to Marseilles, in the south of France. The low-cost carrier will directly compete with Air France, who has operated all flights between the French capital and Marseilles. Ryanair says that roughly 60,000 French will save €6 million ($9.41 million US) compared to the "high fares" offered by Air France. Special rate tickets are on sale with Ryanair for €10 ($15 US) one-way excluding taxes. With this price, will Ryanair attract any current rail riders? The TGV from Paris - Gare de Lyon to Marseilles - Saint Charles takes a mere three hours, city center to city center. Train tickets start at €22 ($34.50 US) in second class. Since Ryanair flies into Beauvais, it wouldn't seem very practical for a Parisian to travel by Ryanair, but for those living in the northern areas of France, driving into Beauvais would be less hectic than trying to cross the Parisian region to the Orly airport (south of Paris), where most domestic Air France flights depart. Ryanair also will start service between Frankfurt and Berlin in May, where the airline will start competing against Lufthansa and Air Berlin.
Photo by Flickr user aromano. Used under Creative Commons License 2.0.
