Ryanair has kept its word. The Irish airline promised in November of last year that at the end of March or beginning of April 2023 it would reopen the bases it closed in September 2019 at Tenerife South and Lanzarote airports. Well, yesterday, Tuesday, coinciding with the presentation of the summer campaign, the company announced the inauguration of these two bases in the Canary Islands.
Elena Cabrera, Ryanair’s country manager for Spain and Portugal, told Diario de Avisos newspaper that the airline is “delighted” to return to the Canary Islands and to reopen “our new base in Tenerife and Lanzarote, offering our customers our biggest flight programme this summer”.
The new bases will bring four aircraft (two to Tenerife and two to Lanzarote) and six new routes: Bordeaux (France), Eindhoven (Holland) and Nuremberg (Germany) with Tenerife South, and Cologne (Germany), Knock (Ireland), Paris Beauvais (France) and Warsaw-Modlin (Poland) with Lanzarote. In addition, in the case of Tenerife South, frequency has been increased on eight routes, including Agadir, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Santiago, Seville, Vienna and Warsaw.
“This record programme is supported by two new aircraft, representing an investment of 200 million dollars and the creation of 60 new high-paying jobs in the aviation sector,” Cabrera explained.
At the time, the closure of the bases resulted in the closure of 29 routes. Today, however, the airline’s level of connectivity is even higher than it was in 2019, before the bases were closed. In fact, Ryanair is by far the leading airline in Tenerife with a 24% market share. With the opening of its new base on the island, the company will operate more than 285 weekly flights this summer, 5% more than in 2022.
Cabrera assured that the airline’s commitment to the Canary Islands has always been clear; he highlighted not only the reopening of the bases, but also the purchase of two aircraft and the increase in frequencies and routes. “We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t have magnificent forecasts for the summer and knew that we were going to fill up,” he said. Efficient operations and competitive airport charges are also the basis on which Ryanair can achieve long-term traffic growth and increased connectivity.
“Since first landing in Tenerife in 2007, Ryanair has to date carried more than 23.5 million passengers to and from this popular tourist destination. We have worked closely with our partners at Tenerife South Airport to ensure this growth and improve services for those living, working or wishing to visit Tenerife, resulting in Ryanair having a 24% market share in the area,” he explained.
In relation to the Lanzarote base, Ryanair will have 30 routes by the summer of 2023 after also investing a further $200 million in its two new aircraft. “More than 210 weekly flights, with a 5% growth compared to the summer of 2022, as well as 1.9 million passengers from Lanzarote, which means 1,400 jobs per year, of which 60 are direct,” said Cabrera. Since the start of its operations in Lanzarote in 2009, Ryanair has transported more than 15.8 million passengers to and from this destination.
The company spokeswoman pointed out that the recovery of the tourism sector is clear. “People want to travel and tourists are rebooking their flights in advance as they did before the pandemic. This allows us to plan our seasons better. On 15 January this year, we are not sure why, we broke all records in ticket sales,” he added.
RYANAIR: “WE ARE STILL THE CHEAPEST AIRLINE TO TRAVEL WITH”
Ryanair is clear. Its aim is to be the cheapest airline. “We want the traveller to spend as little money as possible on the ticket in order to spend more at the destination,” said Elena Cabrera. “Despite taxes and fees, we have only charged between three and four euros on tickets,” she said.
