While German rivals Air Berlin and Lufthansa are cutting their services, low-cost competitor Ryanair is wants to increase its passenger load, the daily Handelsblatt reported.
The airline wants five percent more passengers next year, Ryanair Vice President Michael Cawley said as he presented the airlines summer flight schedule at Weeze Airport, near Düsseldorf.
Beginning in March 2013, Ryanair plans to add six new routes from Dortmund to Alghero, Barcelona, Faro, Malaga, Palma and Porto. With 14 flights per week, the Dublin-based airline expects to bring in an additional 200,000 passengers a year.
With 79 million passengers in 28 countries, Ryanair is already the largest airline in Europe, Handelsblatt said.
The airline became the subject of criticism in Spain recently after three planes had to make an emergency landing in Valencia because of fuel shortages. But that didn't affect bookings, said Cawley.
"People do not believe everything they read in the newspaper," he said.
The Local/sh
Comments