Ryanair: Irish eyes are smiling as airline nears passenger milestone
Ryanair is closing in on a 40 per cent year on year passenger number increase, with a bumper May leaving 2023 up 39 per cent on the first five months of last year.
Fears that aviation would be permanently smaller due to the Covid-19 pandemic appear to have played out in business travel but the short-haul leisure market is as robust as ever.
Ryanair flew 94,400 flights in May, with a load factor – effectively, the number of available seats sold – of 94 per cent.
Competitor Wizz Air also released its May passenger stats today.
Passenger numbers are up 58 per cent on 2022 so far, with the first few months of last year complicated by concerns about the Omicron strain of Covid-19.
The Budapest-headquartered but London-listed business added a host of routes and equipment to bases in eastern Europe as demand bounces back.
Most airlines make the lion’s share of their profits in the second half of the year, with the summer holidays particularly vital.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa’s purchase of a minority stake in Italy’s loss-making ITA Airways looks to inject fresh momentum into a wave of consolidation in Europe’s fragmented aviation market.