That would hardly be the end of low-fare air travel, which now accounts for 15% of all flights in Europe.
Indonesia, by contrast, is a bright spot because expanding low-fare air travel makes the island of Bali easier to reach.
"A negative decision by the commission in this case will be manifestly in error and will do untold damage to the growth of low-fare air travel and competition in European air transport," he said.
The second-quarter profit for Canada's low-fare air carrier, Westjet Airlines Ltd. of Calgary, more than doubled as a result of Westjet's extending its service into eastern cities and higher passenger loads that reflected fears of a pilots' strike at Air Canada, the nation's major airline.
"We believe the growth of low-fare air travel will not be damaged or slowed by higher oil prices," Mr. O'Leary said, "which will only hasten the demise of some of the current wave of loss-making start-ups and high-fare flag carriers".
The largest U.S. low-fare air carrier said that after growing capacity by 13% in 2000, capacity will only grow by 5% in 2001.
"It's going to change the game for low-fare air travel," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said at a news conference.
Not only are there few air-fare bargains; air fares have risen each of the past three months, jumping nearly 16percentt in June.
Business Premier fares also slightly undercut air fares on similar routes, targeted at regular business travellers.
