The low-cost airline business is reinforced in Spain in the first summer without restrictions after the pandemic. Ryanair, the maximum exponent of this model, expands its position in the country as the company that transports more passengers and leaves the competition behind. Throughout this year, the airline has led the recovery of the airline sector despite the labor conflicts it is suffering, with a cabin crew strike that has been active for more than a month and that, if there are no changes, will last until January 2023.
From January to July, 24,648,273 people have traveled with the Irish low cost in Spanish airports -both on national and international flights-, indicate the Aena data recalculated to avoid double counting of internal journeys. It is thus close to the activity registered in 2019, when it broke its passenger record in Spain, with 25,155,951 travelers from January to July. Ryanair's recovery is therefore almost 98%.
The group's CEO, Michael O'Leary, has insisted in different forums that the low cost model will emerge stronger from the pandemic crisis, when the air business was practically paralyzed and the companies plunged into billionaire losses. The manager considers that the average ticket of plane tickets will rise, also in Ryanair. Flying will no longer be as cheap as it used to be because of inflation and rising fuel prices – “ten euro flights are over”, he graphically said last week on British radio. Now, given that the purchasing power of citizens is falling due to the inflationary spiral, O'Leary believes that more customers will choose the low cost to travel, which will continue to be cheaper, according to him, than the flagship companies. At the moment, and at least for Ryanair, his forecasts are being fulfilled.
The second airline in passenger volume in Spain continues to be Vueling, IAG's low cost airline. During the first seven months of this year, it has transported more than 14 million people at the country's airports, only two less than in 2019, thus recovering 86% of its previous activity. It is also one of the companies that grew the most after the stoppage of the pandemic, in part, and like Ryanair, thanks to the greater reactivation of short and medium-haul trips, within Spain and the rest of Europe.
Volotea is another of the companies that recovers best and is even on the way to breaking passenger records. More than 986,000 people have flown this year with the airline founded by Carlos Muñoz –ex Vueling– in Barcelona, compared to 724,823 passengers in the same period of 2019. This airline has specialized in trips between medium-sized cities, and concentrates the majority of the operations in Spain, France and Italy.
All this, in a climate of labor conflict that, for now, does not seem to have had a great impact on the airline sector. Yesterday, Ryanair cabin crews resumed the strike called by the USO union every week from Monday to Thursday until January, causing the cancellation of six flights to and from Spain. On Friday, EasyJet pilots are scheduled to go back on strike.
