The European low-cost giant Ryanair is committed to pursuing extensive growth and capturing a bigger market share from rival airlines in Europe, because it goals to double passenger traffic by the top of 2034.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the airline’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said that “there isn’t any more growth in Europe,” and Ryanair has loads of room to steal the market share from competitors in Western Europe. He said:
“So long as we do not do something silly — which is a each day challenge on this industry — we are going to proceed to wipe the ground with every other airline in Europe.”
Doubling passenger traffic
Ryanair has emerged as a dominant force within the low-cost carrier market, particularly by way of passenger traffic. Within the fiscal 12 months ending in March 2023, the Irish low-cost carrier successfully transported a complete of 170 million passengers, reflecting a noteworthy 13% increase in comparison with pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, its competitor Wizz Air, based in Hungary, carried over 44 million passengers throughout the whole lot of 2022, in accordance with its report.
Photo: Ryanair
Moving forward, the airline has set much more ambitious goals, aiming to double its passenger traffic to achieve 300 million by the 12 months 2034. Indeed, it comes as no surprise that Ryanair is actively pursuing substantial growth with great determination.
In step with this objective, the airline has recently placed a major order for as much as 300 aircraft from Boeing value $40 billion, of which 150 are firm orders. The brand new order was announced on May 9 for the most important version of the Boeing 737 MAX family aircraft, the 737 MAX 10. Today’s Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX order boosts the whole variety of MAXs ordered by the Irish budget carrier to 360.
The order negotiations between Ryanair and Boeing had commenced prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the discussions were suspended in September 2021 resulting from the lack of each parties to achieve a mutually satisfactory pricing agreement.
Ryanair’s fleet
Similar to most budget carriers, Ryanair sticks to a single-type fleet to reduce operational costs. Currently, the airline has a complete of 544 aircraft in its fleet across its five subsidiaries. The airline’s fleet comprises 410 Boeing 737-800s, 104 Boeing 737 MAXs, and a single Boeing 737-700 jet. The typical age of Ryanair’s fleet is 9.4 years.
Photo: Fasttailwind/Shutterstock
The airline’s subsidiary Lauda Europe operates a fleet of 29 Airbus A320-200 aircraft, in accordance with Planespotters.net data. Despite operating a fleet of leased A320s, the airline has decided to transition to a wholly Boeing 737 fleet. Nevertheless, Ryanair’s subsidiary has encountered difficulties in securing a brand new deal for Boeing 737 aircraft.
What are your thoughts on Ryanair’s growth plans? Do you will have plans to fly with the Irish low-cost carrier this summer? Tell us within the comments section below.
Sources: Financial Times, Planespotters.net