Leeds Bradford hailed as one of leading airports for Ryanair

The airline has singled out Leeds Bradford as one of its most successful airports and it has plans to add six new destinations as part of a multi-million pound investment at the base.

Ryanair raised its 2011 profit forecast by 10 per cent yesterday, offsetting high fuel prices.

Europe’s largest budget airline said it had seen virtually no impact from the global downturn in consumer confidence, but warned traffic would fall in the coming months as it grounds 80 aircraft because fuel prices made routes unprofitable.

Ryanair said it was too early to say if this might have an impact on Leeds Bradford’s winter schedule.

The airline said passenger numbers will fall 10 per cent this month as it grounds more planes this winter.

It expects traffic to fall four per cent in the second half, with 500,000 fewer passengers flying in November.

The strategy will improve its full-year profit forecasts by 10 per cent to £378.2m, reflecting a boost to its margins.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “The more price sensitive people are getting, the more they switch to Ryanair.”

The group reported profits of £467.5m in the six months to September 30, an increase of 20 per cent, as a 13 per cent rise in average fares helped it offset a 37 per cent hike in fuel costs.

Ryanair has cut poorly performing routes and focused on more profitable destinations, while a new reserved seating product helped push up revenue from optional extras by 15 per cent.

The airline, which has a fleet of 272 planes, said average fares rose as a result of a better mix of new routes and as competitors put up their prices in response to higher costs.

Revenues increased by 24 per cent to £2.7bn, while passenger numbers rose 12 per cent to 44.7 million.

Mr O’Leary hit out at BAA’s decision to call for a judicial review into a ruling that it must sell Stansted Airport as “pointless”. “These delays allow BAA Stansted to continue to charge excessive fees and generate monopoly profits, even as Stansted’s traffic declines from less than 24 million passengers in 2007 to less than 18 million in 2011.”

He welcomed British Airways’ acquisition last week of bmi, saying a lot of bmi’s short haul routes will be closed or cut back, leading to more growth opportunities for Ryanair.

Comparisons with the previous year were aided by the disruption caused by the Icelandic ash cloud in 2010, which resulted in flight cancellations. Revenues from additional charges rose 15 per cent to £418.6m, after it extended a reserve seating trial from 40 to 80 routes.

Ryanair recently outlined ambitious plans to almost double the number of passengers it carries and stretch its reach across Europe.

Mr O’Leary is reportedly aiming to increase passenger numbers to as much as 130 million over the next decade, up from 72.1 million in 2010/2011. This would make it one of the biggest airlines in the world.

Group adds more destinations

Ryanair is to expand its schedule at Leeds Bradford Airport, travelling to six new destinations.

The carrier will operate three aircraft on 26 routes at the airport, including new routes to Chania, in Crete, Corfu, Dinard, in Northern France, Kos, Milan Bergamo and Tenerife.

The expansion should see Ryanair’s traffic at Leeds Bradford grow to over 900,000 passengers a year.

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said the expansion will bolster the local economy.

“Next year, it means Ryanair will grow its traffic by another quarter of a million passengers, probably about another 100,000 inbound visitors for Yorkshire, and we expect those visitors will spend something in the order of about £3m here in the local economy just next summer.”