Ryanair is no stranger to legal action but it may meet its match in a Cologne courtroom tomorrow. Germany's Lufthansa will present a case that could dent the low-cost airline's ambitious expansion plans in Europe.
The German national carrier will argue that Ryanair is misleading customers when using the name "Frankfurt-Hahn" in its advertisements.
The airport, a former US airbase, is located 110 km from the city and is not even in the Frankfurt metropolitan area, says Lufthansa.
Ryanair has to convince the court otherwise or face serious consequences. Just last month it launched seven new routes from the airport and another three come on-stream next week. A ruling forbidding them from advertising "Frankfurt-Hahn" could harm the latest push.
Ryanair will point out that its British hub, London Stansted, is actually located in Essex, 100 km from the British capital. But a legal sources in Cologne said it was doubtful whether the Stansted argument would convince the German court.
"If an airport in Hamburg, for instance, decided to call itself 'Frankfurt Airport', then any airline that advertised flights to that destination would be open to legal proceedings," they added.
The feud began in November when Lufthansa applied to the state court in Cologne for an injunction to stop Ryanair advertising its German hub as "Frankfurt Hahn".
The court granted the injunction, finding the advertising "significantly misleading, because Hahn is neither part of Frankfurt nor can it be considered as near to or in any other way belonging to the Frankfurt region".
Lufthansa lawyers agreed not to enforce the injunction ahead of tomorrow's case. Meanwhile, Ryanair struck back, securing two injunctions against senior Lufthansa executives. A Cologne court ordered the German carrier not to repeat a "disparaging" remark made by an executive that "there are small companies that are willing to try every sort of dirty trick that exists".
Last week, Ryanair secured an injunction against Lufthansa's chief executive, Mr Jürgen Weber. He was ordered not to repeat remarks he made in an interview that Ryanair's low fares were extremely limited in number and were only sold on outbound flights from Germany.
"Lufthansa will never succeed in its fight against competition in the air travel market in Germany," said Mr Michael Cawley, Ryanair's commercial director.
"They are going to have to compete aggressively on routes for the first time in their history but their cost base won't allow that."
The company estimates that more than 1.6 million Ryanair customers will pass through the regional airport this year.
The airport was legally renamed "Frankfurt-Hahn" last year and in 1998 the International Air Transport Association (IATA) designated the airport, in aviation terms at least, as part of the Frankfurt metropolitan area.
As none of the airlines operating out of Frankfurt International Airport, including Lufthansa, objected to this designation, they are bound to the agreement, said a press spokeswoman for Frankfurt-Hahn airport. "Lufthansa has agreed to that situation for the last four years so their position now is hard for us to understand," said Ms Maria Horbert.
Ms Bettina Adenauer of Lufthansa's legal department said she was unaware of the 1998 IATA agreement but was confident that the court would find in Lufthansa's favour.
Ryanair is similarly confident of a win and its publicity offensive continues. Last week its chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary, told a German gossip magazine he was "looking for a beautiful woman under 40". He also declared his secret love for Lufthansa's chief executive. "I love Herr Weber because with his hostility and complaints, he is giving us the best publicity," he said.
