Everything thats goes around........
From the BBC News Site tonight
Empty seats weigh on Ryanair
Could Ryanair be losing its touch?
Shares in no-frills airline Ryanair have fallen steeply after it revealed a drop in the average number of occupied seats on its flights last month.
The airline said it had filled 79% of its seats in June, down from 88% during the same period last year.
The decline comes as a blow to the low fares carrier, which needs to keep its so-called 'load factor' - the number of seats filled - high in order to sustain its recent record of strong profits growth.
"With the company also cutting fares, this implies that (profit margins) are coming down", said Nick van den Brul, airline analyst at BNP Paribas.
In the City, Ryanair shares lost altitude, falling more than 7% at 400p by the close of trading on Thursday.
Losing the magic?
Ryanair helped pioneer no-frills flying in Europe, luring passengers away from full-service carriers through rock-bottom fares achieved by shaving costs to the bone.
The company, which bought up rival low-cost carrier Buzz in January, said last month it was on course to overtake BA and Lufthansa as Europe's largest international airline within three years.
But the increase in the proportion of empty seats on Ryanair flights has stirred fears that the low-cost formula may have lost its magic.
News of Ryanair's woes coincided with figures from BA and Dutch national carrier KLM, which suggested that the full service airlines may be on the road to better health after fears over terrorism and the SARS virus slashed passenger numbers earlier this year.
KLM said its Asian routes were showing signs of recovery, while its load factor rose to 77.9% in June from 60.2% in May.
BA also reported higher passenger numbers and an improved load factor, although it warned that the outlook remained uncertain.