Ryanair establishes itself as Europe’s leading airline

The 2023 figures confirm the leading role of the Irish group which beats Air France-KLM in number of passengers.

Ryanair will have 182 million customers in 2023, twice as many as the Franco-Dutch flag of Air France-KLM. It is also more than the German Lufthansa and its 93 million passengers, according to a count which is not yet final. Ryanair therefore comes at the top of this ranking, followed by Lufthansa, then Air France-KLM in third position.

Ryanair is a low-cost company, with low prices, it is one of those “low cost” companies which attract customers thanks to their pricing conditions, all the more attractive in times of declining purchasing power. Created in 1984, the small company has climbed the ladder despite many difficulties in recent years. It took full advantage of the resumption of tourist travel after the Covid pandemic, even if it was complicated on a social level with 3,000 job cuts. But the company is gradually training and rehiring pilots, hostesses and stewards.

If all its plans go as planned, the Irish company could rise to the top of the world rankings within the next three years. By 2037, its fleet should number no less than 800 Boeing737s alongside Airbus A321s. Ryanair’s goal is to reach 300 million passengers carried by the middle of the next decade.

Sustainable growth?

Ryanair will have to face headwinds. If the traffic outlook is positive, profitability is likely to be reduced by inflation with the increase in operating costs and passenger fares (commercial handicap). The company is also faced with increasing competition. In terms of profitability – what the group ultimately earns per passenger transported, once costs absorbed and charges paid – Ryanair is already no longer in the lead in Europe.

On this profitability criterion, it is today overtaken by another low-cost airline: the Hungarian Wizz Air. A battle that is being played out in the midst of a period of very heavy investments to be made to keep up with the energy transition and cleaner, more ecological transport. Ryanair will have to play tight at all levels (financial and social) to hold its place as the leading European airline.