© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – A general view of the Ryanair logo at its headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Clauda Kilcoyne
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Written by Alan Sharlish
WARSAW (Reuters) – Ryanair expects passenger numbers in central and eastern Europe to rise by at least 50% over the next decade, the airline’s regional director said, as it looks to dominate a less developed market that is also targeted. by Wizz Air.
Europe’s largest low-cost carrier has ordered up to 300 Boeing (NYSE:) planes as it seeks to capitalize on an air traffic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and the company sees demand for new routes in Eastern Europe.
“We want to focus very much on this region,” Alicja Wajek Golibewska, Ryanair’s director of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltics, told Reuters in an interview. “We see this as going to be a big part of our upcoming expansion.”
“It is very difficult at this moment to say the exact numbers, but we hope that the whole region will grow by at least 50%,” she added.
While Poland has long been one of Ryanair’s main markets, Wojcik-Golebiowska said the company is now doubling down on other countries in the region.
“We see that Central and Eastern Europe has fallen a little bit behind in the past years. So we want to catch up in this region to catch up with our more developed markets such as Spain, Italy and Poland,” she said.
Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air will be its main competitor because it offers similar cheap fares, as well as connections to the Middle East.
Asked how the Irish carrier plans to compete, Wojcik-Golebiowska said it will use “our best rates, being punctual and also making sure there are no delays or cancellations”.
She said the company was also aiming for a dominant position in countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.
“We plan to do this by offering our passengers more routes, better fares and more travel options,” she said.
Airlines in Europe reported strong summer bookings despite rising inflation and an uncertain economic outlook, and Wojcik-Golebiowska said Ryanair is confident it will avoid strikes that have contributed to travel disruption in 2022.
“At the moment we do not expect any conflicts with the trade unions and our current employees,” she said.