So no growth for Ryanair this year, but we may get a new route to Germany in 2016. Looks like Welcome to Yorkshire along with Bridgepoint Capital have some catching up to do regarding marketing wise. As it seem Ryanair think we are lagging behind compared to Liverpool and Manchester.
Riga is not a new route, it just going year round operation. LBA has in fact lost its routes to Milan Bergamo and Gerona this summer.
Ryanair's charm offensive leads to fast growth - and marketing advice for Yorkshire
14th January 2015
SENIOR staff from Ryanair flew into Leeds Bradford Airport yesterday as part of the airline's three-year charm offensive to reposition the brand.
The company built its reputation on low-cost flights but its chief executive Michael O'Leary revelled in the no-frills approach and became renowned for his uncompromising approach to customers.
Under pressure from shareholders and, as Europe's largest airline, with the role of upstart no longer fitting the company's image, Ryanair embarked on a serious plan to change the company without altering its low-cost approach.
"Lots of the things we have done have cost nothing," said Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair's chief marketing officer, as he talked about allowing passengers to take two bags on board and allocated seating - two of the simple, but successful, things that form part of its three-year Always Getting Better programme.
About 25m euro (£20m) has been spent, including on an overhaul of its website that has seen it reduce the transaction from 17 clicks down to just five to book a flight.
Mr Jacobs added: "The industry KPI is average cost per passenger minus fuel. Because we have had a step-up in passengers from 81m to 90m, the average cost stays flat because it's worked so well, so quickly."
That annual growth of 9m passengers - which Ryanair delights as describing as having added almost the same number of passengers as Irish rival Aer Lingus carries in total - is to be continued. Ryanair is targeting 160m passengers by 2024, which it is planning for by investing in 380 new aircraft so that it will have a fleet of 520 within a decade.
Its UK operation currently handles 32m passengers a year, which it expects to increase to 36m in the next two years.
Although there are no immediate plans for this growth to benefit Leeds Bradford Airport - yesterday just one new route was announced, to Riga, Latvia, adding to the existing 20 - it is likely that a Germany route will be available in 2016, with other additions possible as the new aircraft allow for extra routes where demand is highest.
Mr Jacobs praised the Airport, which handles about 800,000 Ryanair passengers a year, accounting for one-quarter of the Airport's total. He called on the region's tourism and inward investment agencies to constantly review and improve its marketing strategy.
"It's a very efficient airport and well run," he said. "We need more aircraft and an ongoing good deal for us to be able to take more of the capacity that we have coming on stream to work.
"The region needs the best marketing plan within Britain to get people around Europe to visit Yorkshire.
"So I would always ask that never say that the marketing plan for getting Europeans to visit Yorkshire is good enough, just constantly do what we are doing about 'always getting better'. Always work at it because the guys over in Liverpool and Manchester are working on their plan to get people to choose Liverpool or Manchester over choosing Yorkshire.
"Always work at that and tell the great story that Yorkshire has to tell
."