Ryanair in talks with ‘60 to 70 airports’ ahead of expansion

Ryanair is in talks with between 60 and 70 new airports ahead of the expansion that it plans following the delivery of the new craft it recently agreed to buy from US manfacturer Boeing.

The airline yesterday reported that the profits for the three months to June 30th, the first quarter of its financial year, fell 21 per cent on the same period in 2012, to €78 million from €99 million, as rising fuel costs and the loss of the Easter weekend took their toll.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary noted that the heatwave in northern Europe had slowed bookings in some markets, namely Ireland and Britain, while the recession, fuel costs and taxes continued to affect demand and yields.

Deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said yesterday that Ryanair was in talks with between 60 and 70 airports from which it did not already fly, on the possibity of opening new routes.

The airports are in locations such as Israel, Georgia, Bulgaria, Greece, where the airline believes that there is “enormous potential”, and in Scandinavia.

Mr Cawley added that it had also had approaches from airports in Germany and central Europe, where rivals such as Air Berlin have been cutting back.