Ryanair raises passenger target to 225 million a year by 2026
The airline also said it will open 10 new bases across Europe and take up slot opportunities vacated by competitor airlines. Picture: Niall Carson/PA
Ryanair has raised its long-term traffic forecast and expects to fly 225 million passengers a year by 2026, up from 200 million previously as it eyes a strong recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Europe's largest low-cost carrier said the planned delivery of 210 Boeing 737-Max jets over the next five years will enable it to accelerate post-pandemic growth "as opportunities open up at primary and secondary airports all over Europe, particularly where legacy carriers have failed or reduced fleet sizes".
Ryanair, which last week ended talks over a new order of the larger 737 Max-10 jets worth tens of billions of dollars because the prices on offer were too high, said in a statement ahead of its annual general meeting that the performance of the 197-seat Max-200 model this summer had exceeded expectations.
The airline also said it will open 10 new bases across Europe and take up slot opportunities vacated by competitor airlines.
Ryanair flew 149 million passengers a year before the pandemic and expects to fly between 90 million and 100 million in its financial year to the end of March 2022 as the industry recovers from the disruption of the last 18 months.
Ryanair had planned to reach the 200 million passenger mark by March 2024 but said just before the pandemic struck Europe last year that delays in the delivery of the then-grounded Max jet would mean it would take until 2025 or 2026.
Meanwhile, the airline is set to create 5,000 jobs over the next five years as the budget airline plans its recovery.
The expansion comes after the company announced at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that it would lay off 3,000 workers due to the crisis.
But chief executive Michael O’Leary said the carrier is in a better position and has been snapping up slots vacated by collapsed airlines due to coronavirus hitting the industry hard.
Speaking ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting, he said: “Ryanair will open 10 new bases across Europe this year as we work with airport partners to help them recover traffic and jobs post-Covid, and take up slot opportunities that are being vacated by competitor airlines who have collapsed or significantly reduced their fleet sizes.
“Ryanair expects to create over 5,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers over the next five years, and the group is excited to have, earlier this week, opened a €50m Aviation Training Centre in Dublin, with two further high-quality training centres planned for Spain and Poland over the next five years.”
He added: “We can recover strongly from the Covid pandemic and deliver higher-than-expected growth in both traffic and jobs over the next five years.”
We are excited to be at the opening of the brand new €50m Aviation Training Centre to announce a new agreement with @FlightDublin
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 14, 2021
This agreement will allow us to employ and train 5000 new pilots, cabin crew, engineers and ground operation professionals over the next 5 years 🙌
Ryanair also upgraded forecasts for growth over the next five years, with projections that passenger numbers will grow by 50%, compared with 33% previously predicted.
Bosses said they now expect to fly 225 million passengers by March 2026 – 25 million more than previous targets.
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