Please don't tell me I'm biased or dislike Ryanair. I do like them. In fact that's why I'm concerned. In my opinion some aspects of their policy are very unwise and that could cost them dear. Why do I think so? Just take a look at some bad signs.
No-frills airline Easyjet saw passenger numbers rise by 22.4% in February with its planes also flying fuller.
Total passengers carried rose to 3.24m from 2.65m. Easyjet's own passengers rose 14.8% to 3.04m from 2.65m the year before. The load factor rose by 1.4 percentage points to 84.3% for its own fleet and 1.8 percentage points to 84.6% overall.
Low-fares airline Ryanair Holdings PLC said it carried 20 pct more passengers in February than a year earlier, but added that its load factor during the month fell by two percentage points.
The Irish carrier's passenger traffic during the month rose to 3.84 mln from 3.21 mln last February, while its load factor fell to 75 pct from 77 pct.
The trend is worrying for Ryanair (or at least I would feel uneasy in their position). My assertion is that they should start to care much more about what their passengers have to say. Nobody cannot decide by force where the passengers' streams should go. The carrier should plan the route network basing on some research not just on the wishful thinking (and the airport deals). It will not fill the planes. Neither the 1-penny flights. A time to reassess an rethink some issues, maybe? With the route policy on the upfront, don't you think?