"Ryanair told to stop using name Duesseldorf for airport"

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Ryanair told to stop using name Duesseldorf for airport
The Associated Press


FRANKFURT, GERMANY - A court on Tuesday blocked low-fare airline Ryanair
from using the word ``Duesseldorf'' for an airport near the German-Dutch
border because the facility is 70 kilometers (42 miles) from the city.

The court in Cologne said that Ryanair's term ``Niederrhein (Duesseldorf)''
for the airport was deceptive advertising because it's too far away.

Dublin-based Ryanair flies to London Stansted airport three times a day from
the former military airfield at Weeze in the Niederrhein, or Lower Rhine,
region.

Ryanair said it would appeal and criticized the decision. It blamed
competitor airline Lufthansa and Duesseldorf Airport, saying Lufthansa was
behind the suit brought by the private Center Against Unfair Competition.

The center is an alliance of business groups that polices businesses under
German law regulating practices such as advertising and discounting.

``Ryanair understands why both Duesseldorf Airport and Lufthansa would want
to prevent competition (and lower fares) from another airport near
Duesseldorf,'' Ryanair said.

Carolyn Baldwin, Ryanair's sales manager for Germany, said the center had
refused to say who had made the initial complaint. ``We have not had any
complaints from the 50,000 customers who have used the airport,'' she said.

Lufthansa spokesman Frank Puettmann said Lufthansa was not involved in the
lawsuit.

Ryanair, which typically uses secondary airports, continues to call the
airport it uses 120 kilometers (70 miles) from Frankfurt ``Frankfurt-Hahn
despite a challenge from Lufthansa.


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