Ryanair 2011 Annual Report Download - page 59

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Related to the Company—Changes in Fuel Costs and Fuel Availability Affect the Company’s Results and
Increase the Likelihood that the Company May Incur Losses” and “—The Company May Not Be Successful in
Raising Fares to Offset Increased Business Costs.”
In recent years, in response to an operating environment characterized by high fuel prices, typically
lower seasonal yields and higher airport charges and/or taxes, Ryanair has adopted a policy of grounding a
certain portion of its fleet during the winter months (from November to March inclusive). In the winter months
of 2010-11, Ryanair grounded approximately 40 aircraft and the Company announced in May 2011 that it
intends to ground up to 80 aircraft during the coming winter. As a result, while the Company still expects to
grow passenger traffic during fiscal 2012 as a whole, it expects that its passenger volumes during the winter
months of 2011-12 will be below those recorded during the winter months of 2010-11. While seasonal
grounding does reduce the Company’s operating costs, it also decreases Ryanair’s potential to record both flight
and non-flight revenues. Decreasing the number and frequency of flights may also negatively affect the
Company’s labor relations, including its ability to attract flight personnel interested in full-time employment.
See “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Ryanair Has Decided to Seasonally Ground Aircraft.”
ROUTE SYSTEM, SCHEDULING AND FARES
Route System and Scheduling
As of June 30, 2011, the Company offered approximately 1,550 scheduled short-haul flights per day
serving approximately 160 airports largely throughout Europe, and flying approximately 1,300 routes. The
following table lists Ryanair’s bases of operations:
Bases of Operations
Alghero
Dublin
Malta
Alicante Dusseldorf (Weeze) Manchester (b)
Barcelona (Girona)
Edinburgh
Milan (Bergamo)
Barcelona (El Prat) Faro Nottingham East Midlands
Barcelona (Reus) (a) Frankfurt (Hahn) Pescara
Bari
Glasgow (Prestwick)
Pisa
Bologna Gran Canaria Porto
Bournemouth
Kaunas
Oslo (Rygge)
Birmingham Lanzarote Rome (Ciampino)
Bremen Leeds Bradford Seville
Brindisi Liverpool Shannon
Bristol London (Luton) Stockholm (Skvasta)
Brussels (Charleroi)
London (Stansted)
Tenerife South
Cagliari Madrid Trapani
Cork
Malaga
Valencia
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(a) On June 29, 2011, Ryanair announced the closure of the Barcelona (Reus) base with effect from October 30, 2011.
(b) On July 12, 2011, Ryanair announced it would open a new base at Manchester with effect from October 2011.
See Note 17, “Analysis of operating revenues and segmental analysis,” to the consolidated financial
statements included in Item 18 for more information regarding the geographical sources of the Company’s
revenue.
Management’s objective is to schedule a sufficient number of flights per day on each of Ryanair’s
routes to satisfy demand for Ryanair’s low-fares service. Ryanair schedules departures on its most popular
routes at frequent intervals, normally between approximately 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Management regularly
reviews the need for adjustments in the number of flights on all of its routes.
During the 2011 fiscal year, Ryanair announced 328 new routes across its network. See “Risk
Factors—Risks Related to the Company—Ryanair Has Decided to Seasonally Ground Aircraft.”