Ryanair Optimistic about Winter Season Capacity

Irish ULCC Ryanair (FR) expects to increase its capacity by 8% for the upcoming winter season when compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Tarik

Dixon

18/10/22

DALLAS - Irish ULCC Ryanair (FR) expects to increase its capacity by 8% for the upcoming winter season when compared to pre-pandemic levels amid the high inflation scares currently plaguing Europe and the region's air travel industry.

Jason McGuinness, FR Director of Commercial, said the carrier was ''cautiously optimistic'' for the season and predicts that the ULCC will witness a better performance than some of its competitors.

McGuinness also added that the ULLC is set to operate its largest-ever winter schedule with 200 new routes. In August, FR announced its biggest winter schedule to/from 21 UK airports connecting passengers to new sunny destinations and also city break destinations, including Asturia, Catania, Edinburgh, Klagenfurt, Leipzig, and Lapland.

Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways

Further Comments from Ryanair

In an interview with Routes, McGuiness said, “I think we’re one of the only airlines adding incremental capacity this winter." He further stated that the airline was "cautious because of the cost-of-living crisis and the illegal invasion of Ukraine, but customers are still flocking to Ryanair.”

Ryanair has been experiencing load factors exceeding 90% since April this year and even reached 96% in July and August.

The data suggests that the airline is experiencing an upbeat summer schedule which is, in fact, their largest-ever summer schedule offering 117 million seats in total.

Featured image: Ryanair 9H-QDK Boeing 737-800. Photo: Julian Schöpfer/Airways

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