I think its a good idea what Ryanair is doing, no point in flying empty a/c round europe for the fun of it, it will keep the load factor high. Its just a case of supply n demand. Which is why we are seeing an increased number of sun routes, like ALC and TFS, and AGP in the spring.
Durring my training I was told by Ryanair Direct that we know its going to be a hard year for us, but we have the cash funds to ride it out, you get this every few years and yes some of the smaller carriers will go out of business or drop some routes. A good example of this will be Belfast from EMA over the next few months. And it looks like easyJet are gearing up to cut back to EMA since Ryanair are starting a fight for EMA. (Look at EMA forum).
Saying that Ryanair at EMA are adding new a/c over the winter with new exciting routes, TFS and ALC, more Polish routes like Poznan.
Lee