Ryanair's Michael O'Leary sees the return of Spirit Airlines' A320-family aircraft to lessors easing engine availability rather than bringing many more aircraft into the secondhand market.
With much discussion about LCCs following the recent demise of Spirit Airlines, this week's #FlightFriday looks at how the three large low-cost airline groups in Europe have been faring since 2023.
With COVID-19 travel restrictions easing in parts of the world, airlines are gradually rebuilding their networks. Routes analyzes some of the services returning as well as new routes being launched. This week: airBaltic’s new route to Dublin; Air New Zealand resuming flights to Tokyo; and Luxair re-entering a market it last served in 2007.
Thirteen more routes have been added to Wizz Air’s summer schedule, taking the total number of new services being launched by the Central and Eastern Europe ULCC close to the 150 mark.
Ryanair Group’s Austrian subsidiary Lauda faces an “existential crisis” with its main base in Vienna expected to close before the end of the month, group CEO Michael O’Leary has warned.
Vienna Airport is on course for another record year of passenger traffic, although joint chief executive and chief operating officer Julian Jäger expects the growth to level out as a result of further consolidation in the European market.
Austrian leisure airline Laudamotion will increase its fleet to 25 aircraft this summer across its four European bases as it continues to expand its route network.
As 2018 draws to a close, Routesonline looks at some of the biggest stories making the headlines this year. Part one of our review features the attempted takeover of Norwegian; an interview with British Airways boss Alex Cruz; the first non-stop link between the UK and Australia; and the fastest-growing airports in the world. Plus we were in Quito, Brisbane and Bilbao for the regional Americas, Asia and Europe route development forums.
Rising oil prices could force Ryanair to close more bases or cut capacity, its chief executive Michael O’Leary has cautioned. But the airline plans to speed consolidation in Europe through its aggressive pricing.
Vienna Airport lost its second-largest customer a year ago when Air Berlin collapsed, but has since experienced a surge in traffic. Joint CEO and COO Julian Jäger tells Routesonline about the airport's new-found status as a battleground for low-cost carriers.
Laudamotion will double its Airbus fleet next year after Ryanair completed a deal to buy 75 percent of the Austrian leisure airline from former racing driver Niki Lauda.