Four times bigger than British Airways: Ryanair

Ryanair says it carried four times the UK and Europe short-haul traffic of British Airways in October.

Ryanair’s traffic grew by 15 percent in October to 6.2 million while BA’s comparable traffic fell by four percent to 1.6 million.

“Ryanair continues to grow rapidly during the recession as passengers switch to Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares from BA’s high fares and unjustified fuel surcharges,” said Ryanair’s spokesperson Stephen McNamara.

“Ryanair now carries four times BA’s traffic in the UK and Europe, their most important market. Ryanair will continue to grow and attract BA passengers because Ryanair will continue to lower fares,” said McNamara.

Growth

Ryanair could topple British Airways as the UK’s dominant airline within months, the low-cost carrier predicted recently. Ryanair’s passenger numbers rose to 36.4 million in the six-month period, up 15 percent from the same period last year. 

The airline is in talks with Boeing about an order for 200 new aircraft to be delivered between 2013 and 2016. 

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, recently said that the days of rapid expansion at Ryanair could come to a halt unless the airline struck a deal with Boeing for up to 200 new aircraft. It has 100 on order for delivery by 2012 and, if it is unable to secure the new aircraft, Ryanair will adjust its future strategy and return cash to shareholders, instead.