World Business Press Online, LONDON - If the states reach an agreement in Copenhagen that the airlines must trade the emissions like the other sectors, then the ticket prices will go up. Ryanair etc. will make the customers pay for their extra emission quotas costs. The clients may, at least, feel good that they support the fight against the climate change in developed nations. The auction's money should serve this purpose. Emissions trading (if agreed upon), along with the surging oil prices, are the main factors adding to the expected consolidation within the sector that expects a 9bn dollar loss in 2009. Each crisis has its own winner and Ryanair seems to be this champion now. At the expense of his rivals, of course.  The Europeans don't stop travelling; they just spend less on restaurants and hotels. They prefer low cost airlines now, and this trend could be changed only through a bigger shift to ecotourism, highly underdeveloped in the European Union. If that happens once, it will take many years. Until then, Ryanair, can dictate the price to the aviation industry, because the company has cash, unlike his competitors. The Irish carrier should by successful (in price setting), for Boeing, Airbus etc. face purchase orders cancelling from other airlines, that can hardly get any financing from the banks. Besides, the governments are more careful with their military orders too, since the budgets are tight and the public is already frustrated enough. All these factors favour Ryanair's expansion and we will see how big market share will be O'Leary and comp. able to secure after the crisis is over.

Milan Sebo