Ryanair traffic and load factor rise in October

Budget airline Ryanair said on Wednesday that traffic and the load factor rose last month.

Traffic was up 13% to 10.9m customers, while the load factor – which gauges how full the planes are – nudged up to 95% from 94%.

On a rolling basis, annual traffic grew 16% to 114.4m customers.

Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs attributed the jump in traffic to lower fares and “the continuing success” of the group’s ‘Always Getting Better’ programme.

Also on Wednesday, Ryanair said it will start flying from Frankfurt airport next year to destinations in Spain and Portugal.

Chief commercial officer David O’Brien said: “We are pleased to launch a new base at Frankfurt am Main airport from the end of March, our 9thGerman base and 85th in Europe, with four new routes to Alicante, Faro, Malaga and Palma, which will deliver 400,000 customers per annum at Frankfurt am Main Airport, as we add another primary airport to our German network.

“Our two based aircraft represent an investment of $200m, which further underlines our commitment to growing traffic, tourism and jobs in the Hessen region.”

At 1130 BST, Ryanair shares were up 1.5% to €12.92.