Ryanair

Europe’s largest LCC Ryanair placed a follow-on order for 75 Boeing 737-8200s on Dec. 3, in what is the first major commitment for the MAX since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. FAA’s decision to unground the aircraft.

Air traffic in Europe fell to 35.5% of 2019 levels in the week to Nov. 29, Eurocontrol figures showed, as COVID-19 travel restrictions and national lockdowns continued to affect demand for travel.

The Worldwide Airport Slot Board has urged regulators to commit to prolonging slot flexibility before the end of the year.

Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary expects passenger volumes to reach 70% of pre-COVID levels in 2021, especially if vaccines can be made widely available by the spring.

ASM’s senior analyst James Nicholls looks at the trends around Ryanair’s new route announcements over the past two years.

Ryanair CEO says ULCC plans to add capacity quickly and stimulate demand through pricing.

Extending the temporary waiver on airport slot rules in Europe through the summer 2021 season will slow the recovery and prevent competition returning to the industry, according to the CEOs of Ryanair Group and Wizz Air.

The CEOs of Ryanair Group and Wizz Air have called on regulators to reinstate the 80/20 airport slot rule or risk stifling the recovery.

Ryanair is taking over a large chunk of rival easyJet’s slot portfolio at London Stansted.

The brand of Ryanair’s Austrian carrier Laudamotion will finally disappear from the market once and for all in the coming weeks, Laudamotion CEO Andreas Gruber said.

European airlines’ capacity plans were already indicating that traffic levels would fall further in the coming weeks. As lockdown after lockdown begins, the mood within the industry is gloomier still.

From Nov. 5 UK residents are banned from non-essential international travel.

Ryanair will suspend operations from Irish airports with the exception of Dublin (DUB) for four weeks starting Nov. 14 due to COVID-19 restrictions there.

The Irish ULCC is making big cuts to its winter flight schedule and shutting three bases.

Amid growing competition on Italian domestic routes, Ryanair is planning to grow its network in the country while at the same time preparing to reduce operations in its home market of Ireland.

The Irish LCC is already the largest operator at the airport by capacity and plans to further increase its footprint during the upcoming winter season.

Ryanair will reduce its October capacity by an additional 20% and has warned of more possible cuts over the winter months.

Italian CAA ENAC has called a meeting with Irish LCC Ryanair to discuss reports that the airline may not be fully complying with national COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Lufthansa's LCC steps in to offer flights from DUS to the vacation destinations in Greece, Portugal and Spain.

Lufthansa LCC subsidiary Eurowings—taking advantage of Ryanair’s base closure at Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) in Germany—plans to take over up to 95% of the routes that have been operated by the Irish LCC.

The LCC will begin domestic service in November, offering four routes form Nantes and one from Paris Orly.

A weekly round-up of the latest news from the aviation industry as airlines and airports seek to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

Lauda Europe—the new incarnation of Ryanair’s Austrian carrier Laudamotion, which is to relinquish its Austrian AOC—operated its first flight under its Maltese AOC on Sept. 11.

Ryanair Holdings Group CEO Michael O’Leary has said he is now anticipating just 50 million passengers for fiscal 2020-21, two-thirds fewer than the 149 million passengers carried by the Irish LCC in 2019-20.

Routes analyzes some of the services returning as well as new routes being launched. This week we look at Qatar Airways resuming Lagos; Wizz Air’s first Italian domestic routes; and American Airline adding Daytona Beach flights.