Tag Archives: Ryanair

Ryanair’s 2012 profit rises by 13% to a record $731.3 million

By Bruce Drum on May 20, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has reported on its financial results for 2012. The company issued this statement:

Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) today (May 20) announced (record) annual profits of €569 million ($731.3 million), up 13% on last year despite higher oil costs. Revenues rose 13% to €4.88 billion as traffic grew 5% to 79.3 million passengers. Unit costs rose 8% mainly due to an 18% (€292 million) increase in fuel. Excluding fuel unit costs rose by 3%, while average fares improved by 6%.

Full Year End (IFRS)	Mar 31, 2012	Mar 31, 2013	% Change
Passengers(m)	75.8	79.3	+ 5%
Revenue(m)	€4,325	€4,884	+13%
Profit after Tax(m) Note 1	€503	€569	+13%
Basic EPS(euro cent)	34.10	39.45	+16%

“Announcing these profits Ryanair’s, Michael O’Leary, said:

The highlights of the past financial year include:-

· Profits grew by 13% to €569m.

· Traffic grew 5% to 79.3m (despite grounding up to 80 winter aircraft).

· 7 new bases – Chania (Greece), Eindhoven (Netherlands), Fez (Morocco), Krakow (Poland), Maastricht (Netherlands), Marrakech (Morocco) & Zadar (Croatia).

· 217 new routes (y/e total over 1,600 routes).

· 15 new aircraft delivered (y/e fleet 305).

· 2nd special div. of €492m and €68m share buyback completed.

· 175 new aircraft order, delivery 2014 to 2018 (sub. to June 18 EGM approval).

Delivering a 13% increase in profits and 5% traffic growth despite high oil prices during a European recession is testimony to the strength of Ryanair’s ultra-low cost model. Fuel costs rose by over €290m, and now represent 45% of total costs. Excluding fuel, unit costs were up 3% due to excessive and unjustified increases in Italian ATC, Eurocontrol and Spanish airport fees. Ancillary revenues outpaced traffic growth, rising 20% to €1,064m or 22% of total revenue.

Growth – New Routes and Bases

This summer Ryanair opened 7 new bases, and more than 200 new routes as we continue our strategy of growing Europe’s largest passenger airline. However with 9 (net) additional aircraft and longer sectors, traffic growth this summer will be very modest at approx. 2%. By grounding fewer aircraft next winter we expect to deliver slightly faster H2 monthly growth which should result in overall traffic growth for the full year rising by more than 2m to 81.5m passengers.

Forward bookings on our new routes and bases this summer are ahead of expectations (albeit at modest yields) as competitor airlines continue to restructure and cut short-haul capacity. We expect growth opportunities for Ryanair to expand and improve for the foreseeable future.

Our new route teams continue to handle more growth opportunities than our current fleet expansion allows. Significant opportunities are opening up in Germany, Scandinavia and central Europe in particular, where Air Berlin, SAS and LOT continue to restructure. We are in active discussions with the new owners of Stansted Airport and the new management at Dublin Airport and while no agreements have yet been reached, if a competitive cost base emerges, then we could restart growth at one or other airports as early as September 2013.

We have also made offers to the Spanish airport monopoly AENA to reverse a significant proportion of its traffic declines over the past two years. In a country where youth unemployment runs at 50%, their policy of increasing airport fees, while traffic declined from over 220m to under 180m over the past six years is plainly ill-judged. As ever, Ryanair remains willing to exploit growth opportunities wherever airports provide attractive incentives to do so.

Market Share Gains

Ryanair continues to expand, making meaningful share gains in many of Europe’s largest markets. In addition to being the No. 1 passenger airline in Ireland, and Spain, we have in the last 12 months overtaken Alitalia and LOT to become Italy’s and Poland’s No. 1 airline, respectively. Ryanair believes that its unique low cost advantage will enable the airline to achieve a 20% share of the European short-haul market over the next 5 years, particularly given that many of Europe’s high fare incumbents are restructuring and cutting capacity.

New 175 Aircraft Order

Ryanair’s successful growth, allied to deep short-haul restructuring among many high fare competitors, gives us confidence that we can grow from 80m p.a. to over 100m passengers p.a. over the next 5 years. Our recent order for 175 firm B 737-800 aircraft represents an enormous opportunity for shareholders as Ryanair returns to higher rates (5% p.a.) of traffic growth. We are pleased to have reached acceptable pricing with Boeing, and the controlled delivery programme from Autumn 2014 to end of 2018 will provide the opportunity to expand Ryanair’s fleet to over 400 aircraft and our traffic to over 100m p.a. Ryanair is now uniquely positioned to offer many of Europe’s airports sustained traffic growth in return for low cost, efficient facilities. I am confident that in time this new order will enable Ryanair to extend its traffic leadership over Europe’s airlines, and generate further returns for our shareholders.

Aer Lingus

We were disappointed that the European Commission in February 2013 decided to prohibit Ryanair’s third offer for Aer Lingus. It is bizarre that the EU can wave through BA’s offer for British Midland in Phase 1 with few remedies, yet months later reject Ryanair’s offer for Aer Lingus which was accompanied by a revolutionary remedies package delivering two upfront buyers to open competing bases in Dublin and Cork airports. We have no doubt that this was yet another politically motivated decision by Europe’s competition authority and it is inexplicable in the context of its stated policy of promoting European airline consolidation.

Having our third offer for Aer Lingus prohibited by the EU Commission on the grounds that “competition between Ryanair and Aer Lingus has intensified since 2007”, our shareholding is now the subject of an even more bizarre regulatory inquiry in the UK where the Competition Commission are reviewing our 6½ year old minority stake in Aer Lingus on the basis that it may have “lessened competition” between Ryanair and Aer Lingus. Given that the UK Competition Commission has a legal duty of sincere co-operation with the EU, we believe they cannot make a contrary finding, and so this spurious and time wasting inquiry into a 6½ year old minority stake between two Irish airlines, one of whom (Aer Lingus) has a tiny presence in the UK market should now be abandoned in the light of the EU Commission’s finding that competition between Ryanair and Aer Lingus has intensified.

Fuel Hedging

In recent years high oil prices and competitor fuel surcharges have made Ryanair’s fares even more attractive to hard pressed European consumers. The combination of high oil prices, increasing competitor losses, together with a shortage of financing for weaker credits, will lead to continued EU consolidation and closures. Ryanair is 90% hedged for FY’14 at $980 per tonne (approx. $98 p.bl) and we have now extended our hedges into FY’15 with 25% of H1 hedged at $930 per tonne (approx. $93 p.bl). We hope to continue to make meaningful reductions in our oil costs into FY’15.

Balance Sheet

Ryanair’s balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the industry. Our aircraft which have been purchased at substantially discounted prices, represents a significant long term benefit for our shareholders. We have gross cash over €3.5bn and year-end net cash of €61m, despite having returned almost €500m to shareholders in November (€1.5bn over the past 5 years) via a second special dividend. We have also taken advantage of current low interest rates to secure almost 70% of our fleet financing all in at under 3% and we have completed our Capex hedging programme to the end of 2014 at Euro/Dollar exchange rate of 1.32.

Outlook

We expect traffic in FY.14 to grow by 3% to 81.5m. Growth will be slower in H1 at approx. 2%, but rise to approx. 5% in H2 as we ground fewer winter aircraft (up to 60) compared to prior years. Unit costs will increase primarily due to rising oil prices, a 3% growth in sector length, and unjustified higher Eurocontrol and Spanish airport charges. Due to lower yields and higher fuel costs Q1 Net Profit will be lower than last year due to the timing of Easter (which boosted Q4 revenues) and its presence in the prior year Q1 comparable. With almost zero yield visibility into H2 and the EU wide recession, we expect that there will continue to be downward pressure on yields which will dampen full year profit growth. We expect modest yield and traffic growth for the full year to be partly offset by higher oil and Eurocontrol costs resulting in another year of profit growth in FY’14 which – subject to winter yield outturns – should increase to a range of between €570m to €600m”.

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. In November of 2006 Ryanair added these biting “bye bye Latehansa” markings to this Boeing 737-8AS EI-DLM (msn 33594) pictured landing at the Dublin base. The aircraft has since gone on to Nok Air as HS-DBM.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33594, 737, 737800, 7378AS, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, DUB, Dublin, EIDLM, Ryanair, ryanair dublin

Ryanair opens three new bases

By Bruce Drum on April 6, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) celebrated the opening this past week of its new bases at Eindhoven, Krakow and Zadar, bringing Ryanair’s European base network to 54, with an additional 3 bases set to open at Chania (Greece), Fez and Marrakech (both Morocco) by the end of April.

Eindhoven is Ryanair’s second Dutch base (following the opening of Maastricht in December) with one-based aircraft and 31 routes, which will deliver up to 1.7 million passengers per year.

Ryanair also opened its second base in Poland at Krakow, with two-based aircraft and 31 routes, which will deliver up to 1.6 million passengers per year.

Zadar, meanwhile, is Ryanair’s first Croatian base, with one-based aircraft and 17 routes, which will deliver up to 300,000 passengers per year.

All AG photos are for sale.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33813, 737, 737800, 7378AS, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, DUB, Dublin, EIDCT, Ryanair

Ryanair commits for 175 new Boeing 737-800s

By Bruce Drum on March 19, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has committed to purchase 175 new Boeing 737-800s pending the completion of the final contract.

Boeing issued this statement:

Boeing (Chicago) is delighted that Ryanair has announced a commitment to order 175 Next-Generation 737-800s for the airline’s fleet expansion. When finalized, the agreement will be worth $15.6 billion at list prices and will be posted to the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website as a firm order.

“This agreement is an amazing testament to the value that the Next-Generation 737 brings to Ryanair,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President & CEO Ray Conner. “We are pleased that the Next-Generation 737, as the most efficient, most reliable large single-aisle airplane flying today, has been and will continue to be the cornerstone of the Ryanair fleet. Our partnership with this great European low-cost carrier is of the utmost importance to everyone at The Boeing Company and I could not be more proud to see it extended for years to come.”

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary and Conner will hold a joint press conference today to discuss the announcement at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel (Starlight Roof), 301 Park Avenue, New York, at 10:15 am ET.

Meanwhile Ryanair issued this statement:

Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC), today (March 19) signed an agreement with the Boeing Company to purchase 175 new Next Generation 737-800 airplanes. When finalized, the deal will be worth nearly $15.6 billion at current list prices, and will allow Ryanair to grow its airline to more than 400 airplanes, serving more than 100 million passengers per year across Europe by the end of the delivery stream in 2018.

The agreement was signed by Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary and Boeing Commercial Airplanes President CEO Ray Conner in New York (March 19). Upon approval by Ryanair’s shareholders, the purchase will become Boeing’s largest deal to date in 2013 and will be the largest ever aircraft order from a European airline. It will sustain thousands of skilled manufacturing jobs in Boeing and its supplier companies and will represent the largest ever capital investment by an Irish company in U.S. manufacturing and U.S. jobs.

These Boeing airplanes will create more than 3,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers at Ryanair’s growing number of aircraft bases across Europe. Approximately 75 of these new aircraft will replace some of Ryanair’s existing fleet of 305 Boeing 737s, but the remainder will drive new growth of Ryanair’s fleet of young, highly efficient airplanes. These airplanes will allow Ryanair to grow its low-cost airline service by about 5 percent per annum over the next several years, taking Ryanair’s traffic to over 100 million passengers by March 2019.

As Ryanair continues to plan its future as Europe’s low-cost airline leader, it continues to evaluate the benefits of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft which enters service in 2017.

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-CSB (msn 29917) turns on to the runway at the Dublin base. This airframe has since gone on to VARIG (2nd) as PR-VBB.

Ryanair:

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Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 29917, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, DUB, Dublin, EICSB, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair is close to a new major Boeing 737NG order

By Bruce Drum on March 13, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) is on the verge of a major order for around 170 current generation Boeing 737 aircraft according to this report by Reuters.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-CSY (msn 32779) lands at the Dublin hub. This aircraft was returned to the lessor on November 19, 2008 and is currently with UTair Aviation of Russia operating as VQ-BJG.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 32779, 737, 737800, 7378AS, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, DUB, Dublin, EICSY, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair to cut its London Stansted hub by 9%

By Bruce Drum on March 1, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) in a protest over airport fees has announced it will cut its London Stansted hub by 9 percent. The airline has often used this threat to cut services and jobs to put pressure on airports to lower their fees. The opinionated airline issued this statement over the fee hikes:

Ryanair announced that it will cut its London Stansted traffic by 9% over the coming year (from 12.5 million to 11.4 million) after the Ferrovial/BAA Stansted monopoly announced a further unjustified increase of Stansted’s already high charges of 6% from April 2013, despite the fact that Ferrovial/BAA has sold Stansted to Manchester Airport Group (MAG) who will take over the airport sometime before the end of March.

Ryanair has called on Stansted’s regulator, the CAA, to investigate whether this unjustified and unwarranted 6% price hike was a “sweetener” by Ferrovial/BAA’s sale of Stansted, which raised £1.5 billion in proceeds for Ferrovial, despite the fact that Stansted’s traffic has declined from 24 million per year to 17.5 million per year over the last 6 years.

Ryanair, which had planned to grow its Stansted traffic by 5% from April 2013, will now cut frequencies on 43 of its routes and reduce its weekly operations by over 170 flights, with the loss of 1.1 million passengers (-9%) and over 1,100 jobs at Stansted, in direct response to this unwarranted and unjustified 6% price hike. Ryanair called on the CAA regulator to explain why Ferrovial/BAA is allowed to hike charges by 6% when UK inflation is less than 3% and Stansted’s traffic continues to decline.

Ryanair also called on Ferrovial/BAA to reverse this unjustified and unwarranted price increase before the sale to MAG is concluded and further called on MAG to confirm that it will not permit any further price increases at Stansted unless, or until, the traffic declines of the past 6 years (during which the Ferrovial/BAA monopoly has doubled Stansted’s fees) are reversed.

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DCD (msn 33562) “Pride of Scotland” turns to depart from Dublin’s runway.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33562, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, baa stansted, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, DUB, Dublin, EIDCD, london stansted, Pride of Scotland, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

European Commission intends to deny the Ryanair takeover of Aer Lingus

By Bruce Drum on February 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) is planning to appeal if it is denied its goal of acquiring rival Aer Lingus (Dublin). The airline issued the following statement today:

Ryanair was notified this morning (February 12) at a State of Play meeting with the EU Commission, that the EU Commission intends to prohibit Ryanair’s offer for Aer Lingus, despite the fact that Ryanair has met every competition concern raised in the EU’s Statement of Objections and during the review process, including providing the EU – at its request – with irrevocable commitments from not one, but two, upfront buyers to eliminate all competitive overlaps between Ryanair and Aer Lingus. IAG has committed that they would take over divestments of Ryanair’s and Aer Lingus’ entire London-Gatwick operations, and Flybe has committed to take over 43 Aer Lingus UK and European routes.

Given that the EU Commission recently approved IAG’s acquisition of BMI at London-Heathrow on the basis of three year commitments, the EU’s claim that it could not be satisfied of IAG’s and Flybe’s commitments to these Irish routes after three years is another example of the EU holding Ryanair to a much higher standard than any other EU airline. Ryanair’s remedies package is unprecedented. For the first time in EU airline history, Ryanair delivered not one, but two, substantial upfront EU airline buyers who have agreed to come to Ireland to compete against a combined Ryanair/Aer Lingus.

Ryanair has today instructed its lawyers to appeal any prohibition decision to the European Courts.

Top Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. Ryanair accurately predicted the demis of bmibaby but it is not getting its way with Ryanair. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DLN (msn 33595) with the “Bye Bye Baby” banner on the fuselage arrives at the Dublin base.

Ryanair:

Aer Lingus:

Bottom Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. Aer Lingus’ Airbus A330-301 EI-JFK (msn 086) prepares to depart from the DUB hub bound for its registration namesake, New York (JFK).

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair | Tagged: 086, 33595, 737, 737800, 7378AS, A330, A330300, A330301, Aer Lingus, Airbus, Airbus A330, Airbus A330300, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, Bye Bye Baby, DUB, Dublin, EIDLN, EIJFK, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair reports third quarter profits of $24.1 million

By Bruce Drum on January 28, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) announced third quarter profits of $24.1 million (€18 million), up $4 million (€3 million) on last year despite an $109 million (€81 million) increase in fuel costs. Revenues rose 15% to $1.3 billion (€969 million) as traffic grew 3% to 17.3 million passengers. Unit costs rose 11% mainly due to a 24% (€81 million) increase in fuel. Excluding fuel third quarter unit costs rose by 4%, while average fares improved by 8%.

Summary Q3 Results (IFRS) in Euro.

Q3 Results (IFRS) €	Dec 31, 2011	Dec 31, 2012	% Change
Passengers	16.7m	17.3m	+3%
Revenue	€844m	€969m	+15%
Profit after Tax	€14.9m	€18.1m	+21%
Basic EPS(euro cent)	1.02	1.25	+23%

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“Our Q3 profit of €18m was ahead of expectations due to strong pre-Christmas bookings at higher yields. The 8% rise in avg. fares reflects our improved customer service, record punctuality and the successful roll out of our reserved seating service. Our fuel costs rose €81m, (+24%), slightly less than expected as oil prices increased 22% (from $84pbl) to $102pbl. Excluding fuel, Q3 unit costs rose 4% due to excessive increases in Italian ATC costs, Spanish airport charges, and the strength of Sterling to the Euro. Ancillary revenue performed strongly and rose 24% to approx. €13 per pax.

New Routes and Bases.

Our new routes and bases are performing well in their first winter, although some smaller bases such as Budapest and Warsaw are doing so at very low prices. Our 51st base Maastricht opened in December, and we will open 6 new bases (total 57) from April in Eindhoven, Krakow, Zadar (Croatia), Chania (Greece), Marrakesh and Fez (Morocco). Significant capacity cuts by Legacy and other struggling EU carriers continue to offer us substantial growth opportunities across Europe. We expect further capacity cuts and restructurings in Europe as high fare, loss making carriers struggle to compete with Ryanair’s expansion at low prices. During Q.3 Iberia, AFKLM, Air Berlin, and Lufthansa all announced major restructurings. Both LOT and SAS are seeking further state support while the Swiss charter airline “Hello” has closed. These trends will create more growth opportunities for Ryanair to grow profitably to 120m passengers over the next decade.

Customer Service.

Our industry leading customer service continues to improve as demonstrated by the following YTD milestones:-

· 93% of all Ryanair flights arrived on time (a new record).

· Lost bags have fallen to less than 1 per 3,000 pax.

· We cancel less than 4 flights in every 1,000.

No other EU airline can match Ryanair’s fares or this level of passenger service. The addition of reserved seating to our priority boarding service in 2012 has been very well received and a recent survey of Ryanair’s traffic in Spain (where Ryanair is the largest carrier) highlighted that 22% of our passengers were travelling on business. A survey of 10,000 passengers in December also yielded the following results:-

· 87% were satisfied or very satisfied with their Ryanair flight.

· 93% said they would fly Ryanair again.

· 95% said Ryanair provide excellent value for money.

Ryanair Strengths.

Ryanair’s ex fuel passenger cost of €27 (ytd) is lower than any carrier in Europe. Our average fare of €50 is (by some distance) lower than any other EU carrier. Our tight cost management, at a time when competitor costs are rising faster, will enable Ryanair to expand our price and cost leadership over all other EU airlines for the foreseeable future. The combination of Ryanair’s industry leading costs and customer service, strong cash flows and balance sheet, gives Ryanair a unique platform to deliver its next decade of growth as we target a 20% share of the EU short-haul market by growing to over 120m pax p.a.

Stansted Airport Sale

The sale of Stansted should be completed by the end of Spring. We welcome its purchase by MAG and look forward to working with them (as we do currently in Manchester, East Midlands, and Bournemouth) to grow Stansted’s low fare traffic back over 23m, where it was in 2007 before the BAA monopoly doubled Stansted’s fees. We also welcome the CAA’s announcement that is “minded to” rule that Stansted has market power, and will need effective regulation to protect Stansted users from exploitation by the airport monopoly particularly when “there is evidence to suggest that Stansted is pricing above the competitive level”.

Aer Lingus Update.

Under Irish Takeover Panel rules we are unable in these results to update on our offer to acquire Aer Lingus. Accordingly we are issuing a separate announcement on this matter today.

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“Ryanair has submitted a radical and unprecedented remedies package to the EU in support of its offer for Aer Lingus. We believe these remedies address every current Ryanair\Aer Lingus crossover route and all other competition issues raised by the Commission in its Statement of Objections. The remedies involve two upfront buyers each basing aircraft in Ireland to takeover and operate a substantial part of Aer Lingus’ existing route network and short-haul business. This will be the first EU airline merger which will deliver structural divestitures and multiple upfront buyers. We look forward to completing our offer for Aer Lingus subject to receiving approval from the EU competition authorities in early March”.

Hedging & Balance Sheet.

We have recently extended our fuel hedges to 75% of FY 14 at $97pbl and hedges on our fuel exposures at $1.32. At current rates our FY14 fuel cost per passenger will rise by approx. 5%, compared to a 14% increase in FY13.

A 2^nd special dividend of €492m (€0.34 per share) was paid to shareholders in Q3, bringing to €1.53bn the funds returned by Ryanair to shareholders over the last five years. Ryanair’s balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the industry, with closing Q3 gross cash of €3.15bn. We expect the year end net cash to be positive despite directly owning over 70% of our fleet of 305 young Boeing 737-800s.

Outlook.

Our Q3 yields were boosted by stronger pre-Christmas bookings, while lower than expected operating costs delivered slightly better profits than forecast. However Q4 traffic (as previously guided) will drop by approx.400,000 passengers (-3%)below last year’s Q4, due to our grounding up to 80 aircraft which limits the impact of high oil prices, high airport fees at Stansted and Dublin, and seasonally weaker Q4 demand. On the basis of this improved Q3 result, our capacity cuts and limited visibility over Easter bookings and yields, (although we have seen some yield softness in January), we now expect our full year profits to exceed our previous guidance (of €490m to €520m) and rise close to €540m, a 7% increase on last year’s profits despite a 19% increase in our oil costs.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best. Boeing 737-8AS EI-CSA (msn 29916) arrivs at the London (Stansted) hub with promotional Scotland stickers.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 29916, 737, 737800, 7378AS, Antony J. Best, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EICSA, London, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, Scotland, Stansted, STN, transportation

Ryanair announces its first new bases out of the European Union

By Bruce Drum on January 16, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) today (January 16) announced it will open two new bases in Morocco in 2013, at Fez (Number 56) and Marrakech (Number 57) with a total of three based-aircraft, as Ryanair invests over $210 million in Morocco. Ryanair also announced two new Moroccan airports, at Essaouira and Rabat as it grows its operations in Morocco in 2013 to 60 routes and 8 airports, which will deliver up to 2.5 million passenger per year and support 2,500* “on-site” jobs in Morocco.

Ryanair will grow in Morocco in 2013 as follows:

Fez (new base):

· 1 based aircraft

15 routes
4 new routes: Lille, Nantes, Nimes and St. Etienne
600,000 passengers per year
600* “on site” jobs

Marrakech (new base):

· 2 based aircraft

22 routes
7 new routes: Baden, Bergerac, Cuneo (Italy), Dole (France), Munich, Paris (Vatry) and Tours
1 million passengers per year
1,000* “on site” jobs

Essaouira (new airport):

· 2 routes: Brussels and Marseille

Rabat (new airport):

· 3 routes: Brussels, Paris and Marseille

Ryanair’s new Moroccan routes will begin in April.

* According to Ryanair, ACI research confirms up to 1,000 ‘on-site’ jobs are sustained at international airports for every 1 million passengers.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33550, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIDAO, London, moroccan airports, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, Stansted, STN, transportation

Ryanair announces its 55th base at Chania, Greece

By Bruce Drum on December 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open its first Greek base and the 55^th base in total at Chania in April 2013 with one based aircraft. The ultra low-fare airline unveiled 11 new routes (26 in total), from Chania to Billund, Bremen, Bristol, Eindhoven, Katowice, Marseille, Memmingen, Thessaloniki, Venice, Vilnius and Warsaw. Ryanair is investing over $70 million at Chania.

Chania is the second largest city on the island of Crete and is also the capital of the Chania region. Chania is located the north coast of the island, about 90 miles west of Heraklion which gets most of the traffic to Crete.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DCL (msn 33806) painted in the Dreamliner promotional colors arrives at the London (Stansted) hub.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33806, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIDCL, London, low fare airline, Ryanair, Stansted, STN, transportation

The Irish government opposes the latest takeover bid of Aer Lingus by Ryanair

By Bruce Drum on December 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment

The Republic of Ireland, which owns 25 percent of Aer Lingus (Dublin), has publicly expressed its opposition to the takeover of Aer Lingus by rival Ryanair (Dublin). The European Commission will be the final judge on whether Ryanair can continue to acquire additional shares of Aer Lingus for a possible controlling interest. Ryanair currently controls 30 percent of Aer Lingus stock.

Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Ryanair issued the following “no comment statement”:

Ryanair said it has no comment to make on the Minister Varadkar’s statement. Since the Government owns just 25% of Aer Lingus, it has no power to block Ryanair’s offer, which can still be successfully completed if we acquire a shareholding of 50% or more (Ryanair currently owns 30%).

The progress of Ryanair’s offer is subject to the outcome of the current EU competition review and Ryanair is continuing to progress that approval process, having submitted an unprecedented remedies package, which will increase competition, choice, traffic and jobs to and from the island of Ireland.

In other news for Ryanair, the ultra-fare carrier announced it had received the final two aircraft of its current Boeing order, growing its fleet to 305 Boeing 737-800s.

According to the airline, “Ryanair’s fleet is the youngest in Europe, with an average age of less than four years, making Ryanair the greenest and cleanest airline. Ryanair confirmed its intention to place a significant order for further aircraft once a sensible pricing agreement with a suitable manufacturer can be reached.”

Ryanair also announced a new route from Ireland West Airport Knock to Malaga in Spain starting on April 4, 2013. Ryanair also announced a new route from London Stansted to Kefalonia in Greece from April 1, 2013 and a new route from East Midlands to Zadar also from April 1, 2013.

Finally Ryanair announced it would open its 54^th base (first in Croatia) at Zadar in April 2013 with one-based aircraft and unveiled 7 new routes (16 in total), to/from Dublin, East Midlands, Gothenburg, Haugesund, Liverpool, Paris and Wroclaw.

Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner. Aer Lingus is an Airbus operator and Ryanair is a loyal Boeing customer up until now, although it is due to place another order. The battle for Aer Lingus could also determine which manufacturer prevails in the future if a takeover and merger is successful. Airbus A319-111 EI-EPR (msn 3169) of Aer Lingus arrives at London (Heathrow).

Aer Lingus:

Ryanair:

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair | Tagged: 3169, A319, A319100, A319111, Aer Lingus, Airbus, Airbus A319, Airbus A319100, aviation, EIEPR, Heathrow, LHR, London, london stansted, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair to open a new base at Krakow, Poland

By Bruce Drum on December 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it would open its 53^rd base and second in Poland at Krakow in April 2013 with two-based aircraft and unveiled 4 new routes (31 in total), to/from Dortmund, Gothenburg, Manchester and Kos, as Ryanair invests over $140 million at Krakow Airport.

Ryanair will grow at Krakow as follows:

2 based aircraft
31 routes
4 new routes to/from Dortmund, Gothenburg, Manchester and Kos
Increased frequencies on 3 other routes
224 weekly flights (up 16%)
1.6 million pax p.a (up 14%)
1,600 “on site” jobs

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33822, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIDHR, krakow airport, Lasham, QLA, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair criticizes Brussels Airlines, the Belgian government, Lufthansa and Aer Lingus, announces a new Eindhoven base

By Bruce Drum on December 11, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has publicly stated it will not move to Brussels (Zaventem) should Brussels Airlines (Brussels) fail due to its current financial losses. The airline is committed to Charleroi near Brussels. The company issued the following statement:

Ryanair rejected recent speculation emanating from the Belgian Government and/or Brussels Airlines that there was some prospect that Ryanair would move to Brussels Zaventem when Brussels Airlines disappears due to its catastrophic losses. Ryanair has rejected this idle speculation and confirmed its commitment to its base at Brussels Charleroi, where Ryanair has operated for 15 years, and has built a growing and successful partnership with Brussels South Charleroi Airport.

Ryanair confirmed that it has recently reaffirmed its traffic development plans with Brussels Charleroi Airport, that it continues to add new aircraft and new routes at Charleroi, continues to grow traffic and jobs in Charleroi, and that it has no intention of moving to Brussels Zaventem, even if Brussels Airlines, an airline which is effectively controlled by Lufthansa (Frankfurt), ceases operations.

Ryanair called on the Belgian Government to reject Brussels Airlines pathetic attempt to obtain subsidies for its high labour costs, which would result in the Belgian taxpayer effectively subsidising Lufthansa, one of Europe’s strongest airline groups.

Ryanair pointed out that Lufthansa freely chose to take a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines, and if Lufthansa is unhappy with Brussels Airlines cost base, then it should reduce those costs or invest in the airline, rather than inappropriately pressurising the Belgian Government to subsidise another large Lufthansa partner.

Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost airline, today announced it would open its 52^nd base (second Dutch base) at Eindhoven in April 2013 with one based aircraft as it invests over $70 million at Eindhoven Airport.

Ryanair will grow at Eindhoven as follows:

1 based aircraft
31 routes
4 new routes to/from Agadir, Bordeaux, Chania and Fez
Warsaw Modlin extended for summer season
Increased frequencies to/from Alicante, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Marrakech and Pisa
238 weekly flights (up 8%)
1.7 million pax p.a (up 7%)
1,700 jobs at Eindhoven Airport

Ryanair also took a public swipe at competitor Aer Lingus (Dublin) which it has been attempting to take control. Here is the full statement:

Ryanair criticized the Board and Management of Aer Lingus for their latest “wet lease” agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways (London), which Ryanair believes is yet another example of Aer Lingus’ commercial failure and lack of any independent future.

Ryanair highlighted that this is Aer Lingus’ second attempt at such a wet lease type arrangement, following the trans-Atlantic “partnership” with United Airlines (Chicago), which started in March 2010, under which Aer Lingus switched one of its trans-Atlantic aircraft, to operate an effective wet lease for United Airlines on the Washington – Madrid route. In July 2011, Aer Lingus’ CEO Christoph Mueller claimed “We operate the aircraft very cost efficiently and United is selling it at very reasonable yields and it works…”. Mr Mueller “believes this type of operation could be strategically important for the future”. Yet this “strategically important” partnership was ended by United in October 2012 after just 30 months.

Ryanair called on the Board and Management of Aer Lingus to explain why Aer Lingus is wet leasing four of its larger A320 aircraft to Virgin Atlantic to operate routes to/from London Heathrow Airport which have no connection with or value to Ireland. Where will these four aircraft come from? Will they be taken from Aer Lingus’ existing bases at Shannon, Cork or Dublin? Will this result in yet another decline in Aer Lingus’ traffic, which has already fallen from 10.4 million in 2009 to 9.5 million in 2011? Will Aer Lingus’ contribution to Ireland’s “Grabbing” in 2013 be yet another 1 million cut in capacity and traffic to/from the Republic of Ireland?

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“In 2010 Aer Lingus was promising that the United Airlines wet lease “partnership” would be the way forward, yet 2 years later United abruptly cancelled the deal and returned the aircraft to Aer Lingus. Instead, United have now entered the Washington-Dublin route, which Aer Lingus previously withdrew from.

Today’s announcement that Aer Lingus is to take 4 of its existing aircraft away from Ireland, thereby reducing its Irish traffic by up to 1 million passengers annually, so that it can rent these aircraft to Virgin Atlantic on a short-term wet lease arrangement seems to be yet another admission that Aer Lingus has no commercial strategy or independent future. What happens in a year or two years time if Virgin Atlantic wants to cancel the deal and Aer Lingus is left with 4 aircraft with nothing to do, but has 1 million fewer core passengers ?

If, as Aer Lingus claims, their brand and commercial strategy is working, then why are they spray painting 4 aircraft in Virgin colours and renting them out, rather than running more routes to/from Ireland for the “Grabbing” in 2013? Ryanair believes that this latest wet lease deal with Virgin is yet another sign that Aer Lingus has no viable commercial strategy, a mismanaged and fading brand and no independent future.”

Copyright Photo: Guillaume Besnard. Boeing 737-8AS EI-EKJ (msn 38497) with special “Comunitat Valenciana” promotional sub-titles climbs away from Barcelona.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, Ryanair | Tagged: 38497, 737, 737800, 7378AS, Aer Lingus, aviation, Barcelona, BCN, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, Brussels Airlines, brussels charleroi airport, brussels south charleroi, brussels south charleroi airport, Comunitat Valenciana, EIEKJ, Lufthansa, Ryanair, transportation

Ryanair to grow in Scotland next summer after reaching an agreement with Edinburgh Airport’s new owners

By Bruce Drum on December 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) today announced a new summer build-up in Scotland:

Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost airline, today (December 4) announced significant summer 2013 growth in Scotland, with 38 routes (6 new) at Edinburgh and 27 routes (2 new) at Glasgow Prestwick, which will deliver a combined total of over 3 million passengers and sustain over 3,000 “on site jobs” at both Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick airports.

Ryanair cut its winter 2012 schedule at Edinburgh following the breakdown of cost negotiations with the previous owners of Edinburgh, the BAA. After reaching agreement with Edinburgh Airport’s new owners, Global Infrastructure Partners, Ryanair will now grow again at Edinburgh as follows:

38 routes (up 11%).
6 new routes to/from Bologna, Beziers, Cagliari, Corfu, Katowice & Santander
Increased frequencies on 5 other routes
From 232 to 246 weekly flights (up 5%).
From 1.6m to 1.8m pax p.a (up 11%).
1,800 jobs at Edinburgh Airport.

Ryanair will also grow at Glasgow Prestwick as follows:

27 routes (up 7%).
2 new routes to/from Rzeszow & Warsaw Modlin
Increased frequencies on 4 other routes
From 86 to 95 weekly flights (up 10%).
From 1.2m to 1.4m pax p.a (up 6%).
1,400 jobs at Edinburgh Airport.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33549, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Barcelona, BCN, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, edinburgh airport, EIDAN, glasgow prestwick, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair cuts Madrid by 35% and Barcelona by 23%

By Bruce Drum on December 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) is cutting back on its schedule to both Madrid (35 percent reduction) and Barcelona (23 percent reduction) in response to higher airport charges at both airports. The airline issued the following statement:

Ryanair has confirmed deep cuts to its flights at Madrid and Barcelona and across its Spanish operations in 2013 in response to the Spanish Government doubling of airport taxes at both Madrid and Barcelona El Prat airports on July 1, 2012.

From March 30, 2013, Ryanair will cut its Madrid and Barcelona operations as follows:

Madrid (-35%):

· 4 based aircraft cut (from 14 to 10);

· 13 routes cancelled;

· 22 route frequency cuts;

· 272 weekly flights cut;

· 1.9m pax lost (from 5.3m to 3.4m);

· 1,900 “on site” jobs lost (ACI).

Barcelona El Prat (-23%):

· 1 based aircraft cut (from 13 to 12);

· 4 routes cancelled;

· 20 route frequency cuts;

· 170 weekly flights cut;

· 1.2m pax lost (from 5.4m to 4.2m);

· 1,200 “on site” jobs lost (ACI).

Spain (total) (-12%):

· 648 weekly flights cut;

· 4.5m pax lost (from 30m to 25.5m);

· 4,500 “on site” jobs lost (ACI).

These Ryanair cuts are the unavoidable response to the Spanish Goernment’s unjustified and unnecessary doubling of airport taxes at both Madrid and Barcelona El Prat airports in July 2012. These extortionate tax increases, which are now being investigated by the EU Commission, are particularly damaging for Spanish tourism, jobs and the economy at a time when youth unemployment in Spain stands at an alarming 50%.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33816, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, barcelona el prat, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIDHD, Gatwick, LGW, London, london gatwick, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair to cut 10 routes from Budapest

By Bruce Drum on November 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced a 40 percent cut and the loss of 10 routes from Budapest due to increased airport costs. The airline issued the following statement:

Ryanair on November 22 has announced 40% cuts at its Budapest base with the closure of 10 routes and loss of over 280 weekly flights from January 10, 2013 after the Hochtief-run airport increased charges, refused to provide efficient facilities and failed to offer a competitive cost base for future growth offered by Ryanair. Ryanair’s Budapest traffic will fall by 800,000 passengers per year (from 2 million to 1.2 million passengers) leading to the loss of up to 800 “on-site” jobs.

Hochtief’s failure to agree a long term growth deal with Europe’s largest airline is further proof that Budapest Airport has no interest growing Hungarian tourism, traffic and jobs as it repeatedly increases charges even as its traffic declines. This was confirmed by Patrick Bohl (Budapest Airport) who recently admitted that ‘budget airline’ passengers pay more than Malev transfer passengers, with Budapest enjoying “probably the best recovery any airport has seen when they lost a national carrier.”

These Budapest cuts (effective January 10, 2013) will include:

5 to 3 based aircraft
30 routes to 20 (down 33%).
From over 280 weekly flights to less than 170 (down 40%).
2 million to 1.2 million passengers per year (down 40%).
Frequency cuts on 9 of 20 other routes
The loss of 800,000 passengers per year and 800 “on-site” jobs at Budapest Airport.

Ryanair regrets these cuts and confirms that they can be reversed if a competitive cost offer and efficient facilities become available at Budapest Airport.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 35032, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, budapest airport, EIEMA, Everett, PAE, Paine Field, Ryanair, transportation

Ryanair to open a new operation at Nuremberg

By Bruce Drum on November 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will launch a new operation at Nuremberg (Bavaria’s second largest city) on April 1 with six routes to Alicante, Cagliari, London (Stansted), Malaga, Pisa and Porto.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 35035, 737, 737800, 7378AS, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIEVE, Everett, PAE, Paine Field, Ryanair

Ryanair is still optimistic about its proposed takeover of Aer Lingus after the EC ruling

By Bruce Drum on November 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) is still optimistic about final European Commission approval of its proposed takeover of rival Aer Lingus (Dublin). The European Commission has raised concerns about competition in Ireland despite Ryanair’s offer to surrender European routes from Ireland to allow for other carriers to add Irish service.

Ryanair issued the following statement:

Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost airline, confirmed on November 14 that its discussions continue with the European Commission about its radical package of remedies designed to address the Commission’s competition concerns in relation to Ryanair’s June 19 offer for Aer Lingus. This comprehensive remedies package includes a number of new airline bases in Dublin, new entrant competitors on over 40 routes to/from Dublin, Cork and Shannon, as well as specific competition solutions that guarantee increased price competition on routes to and from Ireland.

Following receipt of the Commission’s statement of objections last evening (November 13), a standard procedural step in Phase II EU merger reviews, Ryanair expects that the Commission will shortly market test this transformational remedies package, and remains confident that its offer for Aer Lingus will receive competition clearance following any fair assessment by the Commission. A detailed process of engagement with the EU Commission is now underway.

Ryanair’s offer for Aer Lingus is being reviewed while dramatic changes take place across the EU airline industry, including: (1) a large restructuring of Iberia with 4,500 job losses; (2) the takeover of Vueling by IAG, combining the Number 2 and Number 3 airlines in Spain; (3) a major restructuring of SAS including 6,000 job losses and state backed loan guarantees; and (4) the planned merger of Aegean and Olympic, the Number 1 and Number 2 airlines in Greece.

It is against this backdrop that Ryanair is proposing a merger that provides secure jobs, growth opportunities and financial benefits for all shareholders in a larger Ireland based EU carrier.

Read the local media analysis of this proposed merger from The Irish Times: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DCL (msn 33806) in the Dreamliner livery lands at London (Luton).

Ryanair:

Aer Lingus:

Bottom Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection. Airbus A320-214 EI-DEJ (msn 2364) taxies at the Dublin base.

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair | Tagged: 2364, 33806, 737, 737800, 7378AS, A320, A320200, A320214, Aer Lingus, Airbus, Airbus A320, Airbus A320200, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, DUB, Dublin, EIDCL, EIDEJ, London, LTN, Luton, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Ryanair to start new service to Lublin, Poland

By Bruce Drum on September 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open a new route between London (Stansted) and Lublin – its 11^th Polish airport on December 17, bringing its Stansted winter schedule to 95 routes, including new winter routes to Budapest and Warsaw (Modlin), as well as ski routes to Grenoble, Salzburg and Turin.

The ultra low fare carrier also announced it open a new route between Dublin and Lublin – its 11^th Polish airport on December 18, bringing its Dublin winter schedule to 54 routes, including new winter routes to Budapest and Warsaw (Modlin), as well as ski routes to Grenoble, Salzburg and Turin.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33564, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIDCJ, london stansted, Ryanair, Salzburg, SZG, transportation, travel

Ryanair continues its push for Aer Lingus by asking at least six airlines to fly from Ireland

By Bruce Drum on August 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) is making a new push to obtain a controlling interest in rival Aer Lingus (Dublin). According to this report by the Financial Times, Ryanair has approached at least six international airlines to consider starting long-range international service to and from Dublin to increase competition. If Ryanair is able to take control of Aer Lingus (so far Aer Lingus is fighting off this hostile attempt), Ryanair would need regulatory approval to complete the transaction which could lead to a possible future merger. Regulatory concerns would be concentrated around the lack of competition from DUB if Ryanair is successful, hence the new push for new competition.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

In other news, Ryanair is adding new service to Tenerife Norte from both Barcelona and Madrid starting on November 7, 2012.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DLK (msn 33592) approaches Ryanair’s largest hub at Stansted Airport near London.

Ryanair Slide Show:

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair | Tagged: 33592, 737, 737800, 7378AS, Aer Lingus, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIDLK, London, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, Stansted, STN, transportation, travel

Ryanair reports a fiscal first quarter net profit of $121 million

By Bruce Drum on August 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) reported a fiscal first quarter net profit of $121 million.

Here is the official statement from the airline:

“Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra-low cost airline today (Jul 30) announced that Q1 revenues increased 11% to €1,284m as traffic grew 6% and ave. fares rose 4%. Unit costs rose 10% mainly due to a 27% (€117m) increase in fuel costs which led to a €40m decline in Q1 profit-as previously guided-to €99m.

Summary Q1 Results (IFRS) in Euro.

Q1Results (IFRS) €	June 30, 2011	June 30, 2012	% Change
Passengers	21.3m	22.5m	+6%
Revenue	€1,155m	€1,284m	+11%
Adjusted Profit after Tax	€139m	€99m	-29%
Adjusted Basic EPS(euro cent)	9.35	6.86	-27%

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said:

“As we previously guided, significantly higher fuel costs caused Q1 profits to fall by €40m (from €139m last year’s) to €99m. Our 6% traffic growth combined with a 4% rise in ave. fares led to an 11% increase in Revenues. Ancillary sales grew by 15% to €286m (outpacing traffic growth) accounting for 22% of total revenues. Operating unit costs rose 10% as fuel increased 27% (by €117m) to €544m. Fuel amounted to 47% of total operating costs. We were hedged at $820 pt in Q1 last year compared to $1000 pt this year a price increase of 22%. As a result Q1 will suffer the largest fuel cost rise in FY13 as the pricing differential narrows significantly over the remaining three quarters of the year.

Q1 yield increases were dampened by the EU wide recession, austerity measures, and heavily discounted fares at our new base launches in Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Provincial UK and Spain. Excluding fuel, Q1 unit costs rose by 3%, as we rigorously controlled costs, despite a 2% rise in flight crew pay, higher charges at certain airports, and the impact on costs of stronger Sterling against the Euro.

Despite this challenging environment Ryanair continues to grow its traffic across Europe while maintaining the lowest unit costs in the airline industry, and generating healthy profits as evidenced by the 8% after tax margin achieved in the first quarter.

Our new bases (Billund, Budapest, Manchester, Palma, Paphos and Wroclaw) are enjoying high load factors, although some smaller bases such as Budapest, Warsaw and Wroclaw are doing so at very low fares. We announced our 51st base in Maastricht (Holland), which opens in December, and we plan to announce more new routes and up to 2 new bases later this year. We continue to see significant opportunities to grow across Europe as many airports aggressively compete to attract Ryanair’s traffic growth.

On July 1 the Spanish government more than doubled airport taxes at AENA’s already high cost airports in Madrid and Barcelona, with smaller increases at other Spanish airports. These tax increases have already led to winter capacity cuts by Ryanair and many other airlines in Spain. These cuts will damage Spanish tourism and jobs in a country that already suffers up to 50% youth unemployment. It has been repeatedly proven that airport charges/tax increases lead to falling traffic, and the Spanish government must reverse these unjustified increases if they wish to grow Spain’s tourism and generate new jobs.

Ryanair welcomes the UK Court of Appeal’s decision last week to dismiss the BAA/Ferrovial latest (7th) appeal against the 2008 Competition Commission’s recommendation that Stansted be sold to promote competition and the consumer interest. We now call on the UK Competition Commission to expedite the sale of Stansted. While BAA Stansted traffic declines (by 3% in June and 7% for H1 2012), both Heathrow and Gatwick have grown. We believe Stansted’s traffic decline can be reversed under new ownership which will lead to competition, lower charges, and improved passenger service at Stansted.

We are 90% hedged for FY13 at approx. $1000 pt, up 21% on last year’s price. We have recently hedged 50% of our H1 FY14 requirement at $940 pt, however these lower fuel prices will be more than offset by lower euro to dollar exchange rates. High oil prices and Europe’s recession will drive further consolidation and more airline closures this winter. This will open more growth opportunities for Ryanair because we have the youngest, most fuel efficient fleet as well as the lowest fares and costs.

Our outlook remains cautious for the year. We expect full year traffic to grow 4% (7% in H1, and 1% in H2 due to winter capacity cuts). We expect positive yields will continue in Q2 and anticipate smaller fuel cost increases (due to higher Q2 comparable last year and fuel saving measures we have implemented). Currently, we have no visibility of next winter’s yields but expect that continuing austerity, EU recession, and lower yields at new bases will restrain fare growth. Until we get some H2 yield visibility our guidance for FY 13 remains unchanged, in the range of €400m to €440m as previously guided”.

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 33564, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIDCJ, London, Ryanair, Stansted, STN, transportation

Ryanair cuts flights at Madrid and Barcelona due to the Spanish departure tax increases

By Bruce Drum on July 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) is cutting its presence at both Madrid and Barcelona in response to the Spanish departure tax increases.

The company issued the following statement:

“Ryanair has confirmed deep cuts to its flights at Madrid and Barcelona this winter in response to the Spanish Government doubling airport departure taxes at both Madrid and Barcelona El Prat airports on July 1. From November, Ryanair will make the following reductions in Madrid and Barcelona:

Madrid:

· 3 aircraft cut (from 14 to 11);

· 11 routes cancelled;

· 24 route frequency cuts;

· 252 weekly flights cut;

· 1.3 million passengers lost (from 5.3 million to 4 million);

· 1,300 local jobs lost (ACI).

Barcelona El Prat:

· 2 aircraft cut (from 13 to 11);

· 4 routes cancelled;

· 22 route frequency cuts;

· 240 weekly flights cut;

· 1 million passengers lost (from 5.4 million to 4.4 million);

· 1,000 local jobs lost (ACI).

Ryanair cuts are the unavoidable response to the Spanish Government’s doubling of airport taxes at both Madrid and Barcelona El Prat airports. These extortionate tax increases are particularly damaging to Spanish tourism, jobs and the economy at a time when Spanish youth unemployment stands at an alarming 50%.”

Ryanair:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: 35002, 737, 737800, 7378AS, aviation, barcelona el prat, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, EIEBM, MAD, Madrid, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation, travel

Aer Lingus rejects the hostile takeover bid by rival Ryanair

By Bruce Drum on July 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Aer Lingus‘ (Dublin) board of directors today rejected a takeover bid by rival Ryanair (Dublin). Ryanair yesterday launched a new bid to take control of the Irish international flag carrier. The board is recommending that all stockholders take no action on any proposals by Ryanair. Ryanair currently controls 29.82 percent of the Aer Lingus stock and is seeking to acquire a controlling share.

Read the full report from Finfacts Ireland: CLICK HERE

Aer Lingus:

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair | Tagged: 3169, A319, A319100, A319111, Aer Lingus, Airbus, Airbus A319, Airbus A319100, aviation, DUB, Dublin, EIEPR, Ryanair, ryanair dublin, transportation

Aer Lingus wants to fly domestic routes in the United Kingdom

By Bruce Drum on July 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Aer Lingus (Dublin) is planning to launch a domestic route in the United Kingdom between London (Heathrow) and Edinburgh according to the Irish Independent. The route is up for grabs after British Airways (London) took over bmi (East Midlands) and was forced to give up the appropriate LHR slots as ordered by the European Commission. Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) has also expressed an interest in serving the UK domestic route. The projected expansion comes after Ryanair (Dublin), which owns 29.8 percent of the Aer Lingus stock, launched its hostile bid to take control of the Irish carrier.

Read the full report from the Irish Independent: CLICK HERE

In other news, Aer Lingus today announced its schedule for winter 2012 along with the addition of six new routes and increased frequencies.

Dublin to Verona and Stockholm and Cork to Brussels are set to continue right throughout the winter, owing to their continued popularity. Other exciting destinations on offer include Copenhagen, Bordeaux and Venice.

Frequencies will be increased on a further eight popular routes such as Berlin, Vienna and Amsterdam. There will also be extra flights to Lanzarote and Tenerife which will be music to the ears of those seeking out a winter sunshine holiday in the Canary Islands.

Aer Lingus:

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic Airways | Tagged: 2411, A320, A320200, A320214, Aer Lingus, Airbus, Airbus A320, Airbus A320200, aviation, Barcelona, BCN, EIDEM, london heathrow, Ryanair, transportation, travel, Virgin Atlantic Airways

Ryanair makes a new bid to take control of Aer Lingus

By Bruce Drum on June 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has made another attempt to acquire a controlling share of rival Aer Lingus (Dublin). The ultra low-fare carrier which already owns slightly under 30 percent of the current Aer Lingus stock is offering a premium price of 1.30 euros a share, a 38 percent premium according to this report by Reuters. If Ryanair is successful in becoming the majority owner, the acquisition of the stock would still be subject to approval by the European Commission which in 2007 blocked a previous attempt by Ryanair due to concerns about the lack in competition in the Irish market if a transaction was approved.

Meanwhile Aer Lingus has told its shareholders to do nothing and to hold on to their shares. Will a quick profit tempt many stockholders?

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth.

Ryanair:

Aer Lingus:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Jay Selman.

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair | Tagged: 33621, 4634, 737, 737800, 7378AS, A320, A320200, A320214, Aer Lingus, Airbus, Airbus A320, Airbus A320200, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737800, Comunitat Valenciana, DUB, Dublin, EIDLS, EIDVM, Irish International, Nantes, NTE, Ryanair, transportation, travel

Aer Lingus’ workers at Shannon threaten a strike over a potential move to Dublin

By Bruce Drum on June 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Aer Lingus (Dublin) is facing a possible strike by maintenance workers at a Shannon hangar over a potential consolidation move to Dublin. The 55 workers are protesting the move.

Read the full story from the Irish Examiner: CLICK HERE

In other news, Ryanair’s (Dublin) 30 percent share in Aer Lingus is being investigated by a British examiner over the fear the ownership could lead to higher ticket prices (so far the acquisition has not changed anything in Ireland or the UK).

Read the full report from the Irish Times: CLICK HERE

Aer Lingus:

Posted in: Aer Lingus, Ryanair | Tagged: 269, A330, A330200, A330202, Aer Lingus, Airbus, Airbus A330, Airbus A330200, aviation, Dulles, EILAX, IAD, maintenance workers, Ryanair, transportation, Washington

Ryanair has its best financial year in its history

By Bruce Drum on May 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has reported its largest fiscal year net profit ever for the year ending on March 31. The company reported its net profit for the year rose almost 50 percent to $715 million although it remains guarded (as usual) for the future.

Read the full report from Bloomberg Businessweek: CLICK HERE

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair to further downsize Edinburgh due to rising airport costs

By Bruce Drum on April 13, 2012 | 1 Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will make further cuts at its Edinburgh base with the closure of eight routes and 60 weekly flights from October 2012. The airline is making the additional cuts due to “BAA Edinburgh refusing to offer a competitive cost base for more Ryanair growth”.

According to the airline, “Ryanair’s Edinburgh traffic will now fall by 500,000 passengers per year per (from 1.8 million to 1.3 million passengers), leading to the loss of up to 500 “on-site” jobs according to ACI figures.”

The planned cuts will include routes from Edinburgh to Bratislava, Bremen, Frankfurt, Fuerteventura, Gothenburg, Kaunas, Lodz and Poznan. This follows the closure of five routes from Ryanair’s Edinburgh summer schedule and Ryanair warned that deeper cuts to its winter schedule may be inevitable if BAA Edinburgh fails to agree an extension to its five year base agreement (which expires in October 2012) on more competitive terms.

According to Ryanair, “The BAA’s failure to secure a long-term growth deal, with Europe’s largest airline, is further proof that the BAA has no interest in securing the future of Scottish tourism, traffic and jobs as it artificially increases charges in the hope of making a killing on the sale of the airport for its Spanish shareholders.”

These latest Edinburgh cuts become effective in October 2012 for the Ryanair winter schedule and include:

From 25 to 17 winter routes (down 32%).
From 168 to 108 weekly flights (down 36%).
From 1.8M to under 1.3M pax p.a (down 28%).
Cuts on 10 other routes
The loss of 500,000 passengers per year and 500 “on-site” jobs at Edinburgh Airport.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair is suing ExxonMobil for overcharging on fuel + other news

By Bruce Drum on February 29, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) is making a lot of news lately (probably intentional to stay in the news) (see also Wizz Air). First, the company is suing ExxonMobil for overcharging on the cost of fuel for the past seven years according to this report by The Guardian.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Next, the ultra low-fare airline is again calling on the Irish government to sell its 25 percent share in Aer Lingus to Ryanair. The company is boasting only it can operate both airlines according to the Irish Times.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Further Ryanair’s flamboyant CEO (Michael O’Leary) has criticized the Boeing 737 MAX design and is also talking to the Chinese about a possible COMAC C-919 order according to this article by Flightglobal. Ryanair’s concept of flying with “standing room only” passengers has also been nixed by regulators.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Finally the airline has announced 26 new summer routes from London’s Stansted and Luton Airports with over 260 additional weekly flights to Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Spain. Ryanair is betting Londoners will want to escape the Summer Olympics.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair to cut 5 routes from Edinburgh

By Bruce Drum on February 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-CSC (msn 29918) (Cable and Wireless) STN (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it it will cut its base at Edinburgh from 7 to 6 aircraft, with the loss of five routes.

According to the airline, this will mean “a loss of 300,000 passengers per year, leading to the loss of up to 300 jobs, following the breakdown of negotiations with the high cost BAA Edinburgh about a competitive cost base for further Ryanair growth at Edinburgh.

Ryanair also warned that BAA Edinburgh’s high cost base will lead to significant further cuts in Ryanair’s operation, if its 5 year agreement (which expires in Oct 2012) is not extended on more competitive terms.”

The routes being cut at Edinburgh Airport include routes to Berlin, Malmo, Murcia, Ibiza and Tallinn. The cuts become effective for the summer 2012 schedule (starting in April).

Buy this Photo (now for sale in 5 currencies): CLICK HERE

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

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Ryanair to open 8 new routes from Warsaw’s new Modlin Airport

By Bruce Drum on February 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-EVE (msn 35035) PAE (Nick Dean), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open eight new routes from Warsaw to Brussels, Budapest, Dublin, London, Milan, Oslo, Rome and Stockholm as soon as Warsaw’s new Modlin airport opens on July 16, 2012. These eight new Warsaw routes will deliver 700,000 passengers per year and will create up to 700 local jobs at Modlin Airport according to the airline.

Ryanair Photo Gallery: CLICK HERE

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Ryanair quickly fills the void at Budapest due to the grounding of MALEV

By Bruce Drum on February 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) moved quickly today to fill the void at Budapest due to the fatal shut down of MALEV Hungarian Airlines (Budapest) this morning. At a press conference in Budapest today, Ryanair announced its intention to launch a rescue plan for Budapest and the Hungarian tourism market following the grounding of MALEV. Ryanair confirmed that it will base four new Boeing 737-800 aircraft at Budapest commencing in just two weeks on Friday February 17 where it will open 31 new routes. Ryanair is also hiring Hungarian pilots and crews.

Copyright Photo: Rob Skinkis. Due to the downturn in demand during the winter season, Ryanair has already parked a number of Boeing 737-800s at Birmingham and thus is able to launch this new base in such a short time.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Current routes from BUD:

Click on the map to expand.

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Ryanair swings to a fiscal third net profit of $19.8 million

By Bruce Drum on January 31, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-CSA (msn 29916) (Scotland) STN (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) reported a net profit of $19.8 million in the fiscal third quarter.

The ultra low-cost carrier issued the following statement:

“Ryanair, the world’s favorite airline, on January 30 announced a Q3 profit of €15m compared to a Q3 loss of €10m last year. Revenues increased 13% to €844m as traffic fell 2% and average fares rose 17%. Unit costs rose 11% due to a 7% increase in sector lengths and an 18% increase in fuel costs. Excluding fuel, sector length adjusted unit costs declined by 1%.”

The flamboyant airline continued:

“Our new routes and bases have performed well this winter. We open 5 new bases in Baden Baden (Ger), Billund (Den), Palma (Spain), Paphos (Cyprus) and Wroclaw (Poland) in March/April 2012. We expect to launch at least 1 more base for summer 2012, shortly. The EU recession, higher oil prices, the unfolding failure of the package tour operator model, significant competitor fare increases and capacity cuts, has created enormous growth opportunities for Ryanair, as large and smaller airports across Europe compete aggressively to win Ryanair’s growth.

Unit costs rose 11% mainly due to an 18% increase in fuel costs. Excluding fuel, sector length adjusted unit costs fell 1%, as we aggressively controlled costs despite a 2% basic pay increase, higher Eurocontrol fees, and substantially higher Dublin Airport charges. In FY13 we are 90% hedged for H1 at $990 per ton (approx. $99 per barrel), and 70% hedged for H2 at approx. $100 pbl. We expect to hedge the balance of our H2 2013 needs over the coming months. However, at these prices our fuel bill for FY 2013 will rise by approx. €350m which poses a significant cost challenge for next year.

The BAA’s recent announcement that it will pay dividends of £240m this year to Ferrovial and its other shareholders is further evidence that it is generating monopoly profits under the CAA’s “inadequate” regulatory regime. Over the past five years while Stansted charges have doubled, traffic has declined 26% from over 24m in 2007 to just 18m in 2011. The BAA monopoly’s shareholders are being unfairly enriched at the expense of Stansted airport users who continue to suffer high charges and inadequate service. We again call on the UK government and the CAA to bring forward the sale of Stansted to enable competition between London airports to deliver lower airport charges and improved customer service where the BAA airport monopoly and CAA’s “inadequate” regulatory regime has repeatedly failed.

We also call on the UK government to scrap its APD tourist tax which is damaging UK tourism and jobs. A similar visitor tax in Holland was scrapped after just one year when it was proven that its detrimental impact on Dutch tourism was far greater than the revenue it generated. UK APD was doubled in 2007 to £10 and was increased again to £12 this year and has resulted in the UK having the highest aviation taxes in the world, to the detriment of the UK’s tourism industry, which was one of the UK’s most important revenue earners before its visitor numbers declined over the past four year.

In Ireland the Government owned DAA airport monopoly recently published its 2011 traffic figures which highlighted a 26% decline in traffic from 30m pax in 2007 to just 22m in 2011. While many UK and EU airports delivered growth in 2011 by reducing charges, the DAA monopoly (protected by the Dept of Transport) raised fees by 40% and delivered another year of underlying traffic declines. Sadly, the new Irish government has failed to deliver any change or reform in airport or tourism policy and failed to scrap the €3 tourist tax. Ireland needs competition between Dublin, Cork & Shannon airports in order to reduce the DAA’s high airport charges, and return our tourism industry to growth, which will create thousands of badly needed entry level jobs in the Irish economy. We will continue to campaign for this change and reform, since the Dept of Transport’s current policy of protecting the DAA monopoly and raising access costs clearly isn’t working.

Our Q3 Net Profit of €15m was slightly ahead of guidance due to a combination of benign weather which caused fewer flight cancellations and significant de-icing savings, and a better performance on yields reflecting our planned winter capacity cuts, longer sectors, and higher competitor fares/fuel surcharges. Should these positive Q3 trends continue into Q4, we now expect our full year profit will exceed previous guidance (of €440m) and rise to €480m.

EGM to approve ADR share buy back.

Our September 2011 AGM authorised the board to buy-back ordinary shares representing up to 5% of our issued shared capital. However, EU ownership rules require that at least 50% of the Company be owned by EU nationals.

In order to facilitate further share buy-backs, the board intends to hold an EGM in March 2012 to seek shareholder approval to include ADR’s as well as ordinary shares in future buy-back programs for up to 5% of our issued share capital. A detailed letter to shareholders explaining these matters will be issued in due course and the Board believes that shareholders will support this proposal which will be subject to Stock Exchange and regulatory approvals in due course.”

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

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Ryanair to return to Budapest

By Bruce Drum on January 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-DHJ (msn 33819) BOH (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) is planning to return to Budapest (dropped in 2010) on March 12 according to the Budapest Business Journal. Ryanair will operate from Budapest to Birmingham, Bologna, Bristol, Dublin and London (Stansted).

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Visit our new website: CLICK HERE

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Ryanair announces its 50th base: Paphos

By Bruce Drum on January 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair (Dublin) announced today it will open its 50th base (and first in Cyprus) at Paphos (Cyprus’s third largest city) in April 2012 with two based Boeing 737-800 aircraft and 14 new routes. According to the airline, the new base “will initially deliver over 600,000 passengers p.a. and sustain over 600 jobs with over 80 weekly flights as Ryanair invests over $140 million at Paphos Airport.”

In other news, Ryanair also announced today it will open seven new routes from Malta to Bournemouth, Kaunas, London (Stansted), Malmö, Oslo (Rygge), Turin and Wroclaw in May 2012. Ryanair’s seven new routes will combine for a total of 28 routes from Malta.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DLS (msn 33621) taxies past the camera at Nantes, France with the special promotional “Comunitat Valenciana” markings.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Routes from Malta (Luqa) (click on map to enlarge):

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Ryanair picks Palma as its 49th base

By Bruce Drum on December 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-DAO (msn 33550) (Pride of Scotland) STN (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open its 49th EU base at Palma Airport in March 2012 with four based Boeing 737-800 aircraft operating 47 routes (17 new).

In addition to Ryanair’s existing 30 Palma de Mallorca routes, the airline will open 17 new routes from Palma to Aarhus, Cork, Gothenburg, Haugesund, Kaunas, Krakow, Maastricht, Malaga, Magdeburg, Marseille, Oslo, Paris Beauvais, Poznan, Santander, Santiago, Stockholm, and Tampere.

This will bring the total to 47 routes offered from Palma by Ryanair in the summer of 2012.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Routes from Palma (click on map to enlarge):

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Ryanair adds its 48th base at Billund, Denmark

By Bruce Drum on December 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-DCJ (msn 33564) SZG (Arnd Wolf), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) will base two Boeing 737-800s at Billund, Denmark in March 2012 creating its 48th base.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Image below: Ryanair created the ultra low fare model which Spirit Airlines and others are now following. None breaks the conventional airline rules like Ryanair. Any publicity is good publicity is Ryanair’s business plan. Breaking all rules, especially political correctness, Ryanair is not shy about showing scantily-clad FAs (the proceeds for the FA calendars goes to charity) to promote their low fares on their website.

Routes from Billund (click to make larger):

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Ryanair to offer reserved seating on all flights starting on January 10

By Bruce Drum on November 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-DHJ (msn 33819) BOH (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) announced it will extend its reserved seating service to all its routes, after successfully testing the concept on over 100 routes since May. The pre-booking service, which will be bookable on all routes from January 10, 2012, will costs €10 (each way) and includes priority boarding.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

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Ryanair’s first half net profit soars to almost $750 million, new 2012 “Girls of Ryanair” calendar for charity

By Bruce Drum on November 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8A3 WL EI-EFD (msn 35011) (Comunitat Valenciana) PMI (Javier Rodriguez), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) announced today a 20% increase in half year profits to €544 million ($749.6 million). Revenues rose 24% to €2.7bn, traffic grew 12% and ave. fares increased 13%. Unit costs rose 13% due mainly to longer sectors and a 37% increase in fuel costs. Excluding fuel, sector length adjusted unit costs did not increase at all.

According to the airline, “Ancillary sales rose 15% to €487m, slightly faster than traffic growth. We extended our reserved seating trial from 40 to 80 routes, and if successful we will extend it to more routes in our network. We also launched the Ryanair “Cash Passport” Mastercard prepaid card in the UK and Italy, and we intend to roll it out across the network over the coming months, to provide passengers with a no cost prepaid card for use on Ryanair.com (to avoid our optional admin. fees) and many other retailers.

New routes and bases continue to perform well. Our 45th base in Manchester opened last week. Our 46th (Wroclaw – Poland) and 47th (Baden Baden – Germany) bases will start in March 2012. We also plan to open our 48th base at Warsaw (Modlin) as soon as our current negotiations with the airport have been concluded. The recession and higher oil prices continues to force competitors to consolidate, and cut capacity and routes, which creates further growth opportunities for Ryanair as European airports compete aggressively to win our route and traffic growth.

Unit costs increased 13% primarily due to longer sectors and a 37% rise in fuel costs. Excluding fuel, sector length adjusted unit costs were flat, as we continued to rigorously control costs despite a 2% pay increase, higher Eurocontrol fees, and substantially higher charges at Dublin Airport which were recently described as “insane” by Aer Lingus and “too excessive” by Etihad. We are 90% hedged for FY12 at $820 per tonne (approx. $82 pbl), up 12% on last year but significantly below current prices. We have recently extended our FY13 fuel cover and are 90% hedged for H1 at $990 per tonne ($99pbl) and 50% for H2 at $980 per tonne ($98pbl).”

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Never dull, Ryanair has announced the winners of its “Girls of Ryanair” 2012 calendar. All proceeds go to charity.

European Routes from Dublin (compare with arch-rival Aer Lingus):

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair to open its 47th base at Baden-Baden

By Bruce Drum on October 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-DHJ (msn 33819) BOH (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open its 47th base at Baden-Baden (Karlsruhe) Airport in March 2012 with two based Boeing 737-800 aircraft and 20 routes.

In addition to Ryanair’s existing 12 Baden-Baden routes Ryanair will open 7 new routes to Faro, Malaga, Palma, Riga, Thessaloniki, Vilnius and Zadar.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Routes from its newest base:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair wants to almost double in size in the next 10 years

By Bruce Drum on October 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8A3 WL EI-EFD (msn 35011) (Comunitat Valenciana) PMI (Javier Rodriguez), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair’s (Dublin) CEO Michael O’Leary told the Financial Times according to this report by Herald.ie that he wants to increase passenger numbers to between 120 million and 130 million over the next 10 years.

The airline is in talks with Boeing, COMAC (China) and Irkut (Russia) about a possible order of 200 to 300 narrow-body airliners.

Ryanair carried 72.1 million passengers in 2010/11. This possible order could double the size of the fleet. Ryanair will operate a fleet of 292 Boeing 737-800s by 2012.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

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Ryanair announces its 46th base: Wroclaw, Poland

By Bruce Drum on October 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-CSA (msn 29916) (Scotland) STN (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open its 46th base at Wroclaw Airport (Poland) in March 2012 with one based Boeing 737-800 and six new routes. The new routes will link Wroclaw with Beavais (near Paris), Bournemouth, Chania, Malmo, Malta and Venice.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Route Map from Wroclaw:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair to drop Aberdeen on October 29

By Bruce Drum on September 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-DHS (msn 33580) LTN (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) will drop Aberdeen and the Dublin-Aberdeen route on October 29.

Ryanair blamed “the BAA monopoly refused to extend its low cost deal on Ryanair’s one remaining Aberdeen route to/from Dublin.”

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair announces its 45th base: Manchester

By Bruce Drum on July 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-DHS (msn 33580) LTN (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) on July 12 announced it will open its 45th base at Manchester in October 2011 initially with two based aircraft and 17 routes, growing to four aircraft and 26 routes by summer 2012.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Ryanair’s routes from MAN:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair carries more international passengers than any other airline in 2010

By Bruce Drum on July 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-DCJ (msn 33564) STN (Keith Burton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) is celebrating the fact, confirmed now by IATA, that it flew more international passengers (71.2 million) in 2010 than any other airline.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair’s fiscal year profit rises by 26% to $530 million but threatens to ground up to 80 aircraft this winter due to rising fuel costs

By Bruce Drum on May 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-DCJ (msn 33564) STN (Keith Burton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) reported 8% traffic growth and a 26% increase in net profits for its fiscal year ending on March 31, 2011. The company reported net profits of $530 million. However due to high fuel costs, the company stated it could ground upwards of 80 Boeing 737-800s (they currently operate 272 737-800s) this winter.

Read the full report from The Independent: CLICK HERE

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Ryanair added eight new bases in its fiscal year – El Prat, Gran Canaria, Kaunas, Lanzarote, Malta, Seville, Tenerife, Valencia (total now 44 bases).

Routes from the London (Stansted) base:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair to cut Alicante flights by 80% in October

By Bruce Drum on April 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8A3 WL EI-EFD (msn 35011) (Comunitat Valenciana) PMI (Javier Rodriguez), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair’s (Dublin) latest threat to cut the number of flights is directed at Alicante. This time the ultra low cost carrier does not want to pay extra fees for the use of new aircraft loading bridges being imposed on the airline by the airport.

Here is the statement by Ryanair yesterday:

“Ryanair announced deep cuts of up to 80% at its Alicante base from October 2011, following AENA Alicante’s decision last week to force Ryanair to use airbridges, and pay over €2m p.a. extra for these unnecessary facilities. Ryanair has been operating at Alicante Airport for over five years without the use of airbridges and this decision by AENA Alicante is an abuse of its monopoly which increases Ryanair’s handling costs by over €2m p.a. Ryanair has submitted a formal complaint about this monopoly abuse by AENA Alicante to both the Spanish Government and the European Commission.

In response to this mandatory airbridge usage and €2m increase in costs, Ryanair today announces the following deep cuts at its Alicante base with the introduction of its winter 2011/12 schedule from October 2011 as follows:

· From 11 to 2 base aircraft (down 80%).
· From 62 to 31 routes (loss of 31 routes).
· From over 600 to less than 200 weekly flights.
· From over 4M to fewer than 1.5M passengers p.a.
· The loss of over 2,500 jobs at Alicante.

As a direct result of forcing this €2m p.a. airbridge use on Ryanair, AENA Alicante will now lose over €18m p.a. in passenger and turnaround fees from Ryanair and at least a further €12m in lost commercial revenues from the 2.5m fewer passengers which Ryanair will now deliver. Ryanair believes that AENA Alicante should reconsider this decision to break its long standing agreement (since 2007) that Ryanair passengers may walk on/walk off when boarding aircraft and reverse this decision to force Ryanair to use airbridges and pay €2m p.a. extra since this will now cost Alicante over €30m p.a. in lost revenues and see over 2,000 jobs lost at Alicante Airport.

Ryanair pointed out that the new terminal at Alicante has exactly the same boarding gate stairs as the old terminal, which would allow Ryanair’s flights to continue to apply its walk on/walk off boarding facilities. The use of airbridges, will significantly delay Ryanair turnarounds (because passengers can only use the front door), will lead to more handling delays and will increase Ryanair’s costs at Alicante by over €2m p.a.”

Will Alicante become the latest airport to back down given the threats by Ryanair? Stay tuned as they say.

Ryanair’s current routes from the Alicante base:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair vows to pull five Boeing 737s at Girona

By Bruce Drum on February 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-CSA (msn 29916) (Scotland) STN (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will pull five Boeing 737-800s from its Girona base (near Barcelona) on the Costa Brava as the new regional government choose not to honor the previous agreement signed between the airline and the previous Catalonia government.

Here is Ryanair’s statement:

“Ryanair, the world’s favorite airline, on February 15 confirmed the cancelation of its five year extension agreement at Barcelona Girona Airport, which was originally announced in December 2010, as the new Government of Catalonia has refused to honor its agreement with Ryanair.

In December 2010 Ryanair and the Government of Catalonia reached agreement on a five year extension of its base operation at Girona Airport under which Ryanair agreed to base 11 aircraft at Girona, operate 64 routes and deliver 4 million passengers per year, which would sustain up to 4,000 jobs in and around Girona Airport. However, the new Government has refused to honor the agreement despite being consulted on it by the outgoing Government.

Ryanair will, from the end of February, reduce its Girona operations by five aircraft, close 18 (of 64) routes and reduce frequencies on 17 other routes, with the loss of over 100 weekly flights, which will see Ryanair’s Girona traffic fall from 4 million to 2.3 million per year with the loss of up to 1,700 local jobs. Ryanair regrets the failure of the new Catalonia Government to honor its five year extension agreement with Spain’s largest airline, at a time when it should be trying to grow jobs and tourism in Catalonia. Ryanair will now switch these five aircraft to lower cost airports elsewhere in Europe.”

Will the Catalonia government now cave in with this new threat?

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair opens 17 new Greek routes to Kos, Rhodes and Thessaloniki

By Bruce Drum on February 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-DLK (msn 33592) STN (Keith Burton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) announced 17 new routes, including routes to currently un-served markets, to the Greek holiday destinations of Kos, Rhodes and Thessaloniki from April 2011.

Ryanair’s routes from Rhodes:

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair loses $14 million in the fiscal third quarter

By Bruce Drum on February 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-DCJ (msn 33564) STN (Keith Burton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) announced a slightly reduced fiscal third quarter loss of €10m ($14 million) (down from a Q3 loss of €11m last year). Total revenues grew by 22% to €746m, as traffic increased 6% to 17m and average fares rose by 15%. Unit costs increased by a similar 15% due to a 14% increase in flight hours, as average sector length rose by 7%. Excluding fuel (which is up 37%), unit costs rose by 8%.

Ryanair provided the following outlook for the fiscal fourth quarter:

“Our outlook for Q4 and the remainder of FY11 remains largely unchanged. Easter does not fall in the current Q4, which makes the comparatives challenging. We expect traffic and average fares to continue to benefit from a better mix of new routes and bases, and competitor fuel surcharges (which in many cases exceed Ryanair’s lowest fares). We expect our unit cost performance in Q4 to be marginally better thanks to the launch of new routes in Feb and March which will reduce the number of grounded aircraft by comparison with Q3. Accordingly, we are now confident that our Q4 and full year results will be towards the upper end of our previously guided range of a Net Profit after tax of between €380m to €400m after tax”.

In other news, Ryanair announced an extended summer season operation at Marseille which will see up to two aircraft temporarily overnight at the airport for just over a four month period (April 14 until September 4) offering 24 routes and delivering 500,000 passengers at Marseille’s MP2 terminal this summer.

According to the airline, “Ryanair closed its Marseille base in January following unjustified legal proceedings which sought to force Ryanair’s Irish crew to pay tax and social insurance in France, despite European Regulations which allow Ryanair’s crews to pay taxes and social insurance in Ireland where they were employed, worked and paid. Ryanair continues to operate 13 routes to Marseille from other Ryanair bases and has taken a case in the European Courts against the French decree.”

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

Ryanair takes over from Air Nostrum advertising for Comunitat Valenciana

By Bruce Drum on January 30, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Ryanair Boeing 737-8A3 WL EI-EFD (msn 35011) (Comunitat Valenciana) PMI (Javier Rodriguez), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Ryanair (Dublin) is now the promotional airline for Comunitat Valencia, replacing hometown Air Nostrum (Valencia) after more than 10 years.

Posted in: Ryanair | Tagged: Ryanair

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