Express Mortgages Express Loans Bingo Lose Weight Franchising Dating Shopping Book Shop Find Spare Parts Cut Your Bills Wine Shop Legal Store FlatShare Cruises

RYANAIR PUTS BA TO FLIGHT

OUTPACED BA: Ryanair

Thursday September 6,2007

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(0)

Budget airline Ryanair outpaced British Airways yesterday by reporting its busiest-ever month in August.

Passenger numbers grew 21 per cent as holiday traffic lifted the total to 4.8million, while the total for the past 12 months topped 46.1million.

BA revealed a 6.6 per cent rise in passengers to nearly 3.1million for the month, although last year’s figures were hit by the disruption and cancellations caused by a foiled bomb plot.

First- and business-class traffic was worst hit by the 2006 upheaval and bounced back with a 13.6 per cent rise this year, against a 4.1 per cent increase in economy-class traffic.

BA said its planes flew 80 per cent full, a rise of 1.8 per cent against a year earlier.

Ryanair’s load factor was unchanged at 91 per cent.

Dublin-based Ryanair used the figures to attack BA. Borrowing its rival’s former advertising slogan, Ryanair claimed it had left BA “far behind”.

Spokesman Peter Sherrard said: “BA’s high fares, fuel surcharges and frequent delays have prompted British passengers to choose Ryanair in record numbers, leaving BA floundering as Ryanair flies high as the world’s favourite airline.”