Ryanair eyes new bases in France, Scandinavia after union move

Ryanair sees chances for new bases in France and Scandinavia thanks to its move to recognise unions, the carrier's CE Michael O'Leary said Tuesday. "Clearly one of the upsides of engaging in union recognition from our point of view is that it opens up growth opportunities for us in France and Scandinavia, countries that were previously closed to us because we felt it was going to involve mandatory union recognition," O'Leary said. He said Ryanair could base up to 50 planes in France and that the airline had been in touch with pilot unions in France and Denmark already. "If anything it accentuates the Ryanair model," he said. <br/>