flights

It takes away flights, but gives it 500 million to fix engines

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Ryanair is advancing the project of its future engine repair workshop in Seville with an investment of more than 500 million euros. Just like account ABC, the Irish airline, has signed a multi-year parts supply agreement with CFM International valued at around €800 million annually. This is good news for the Andalusian capital, and it would be even better if it were not for the fact that the same company also restructured its operations to eliminate several routes in Seville. industrial project. Ryanair is preparing an entire industrial infrastructure that will turn Seville into one of its two strategic maintenance centers in Europe. We don’t know its exact location yet, but the company says it will be operational by 2029 and will support the fleet operating in Western Europe. It will not be the only one either, since Ryanair will build a second similar workshop in a city in the eastern part of Europe, still to be determined. According to share From ABC, both facilities will allow the company to internally assume the maintenance of almost 2,000 engines of its Boeing 737, a task that until now was carried out by CFM International in centers outside Europe. The agreement with CFM International. The memorandum signed with the French-American manufacturer (50% owned by Safran Aircraft Engines and GE Aerospace), commits Ryanair to directly acquire all its spare parts to support a fleet that will grow to 800 aircraft, according to share the middle. The contract covers the CFM56-7B and LEAP-1B engines that equip the Boeing 737 Next Generation and the 737 MAX. Once the workshops are operational, the value of the agreement will exceed 1 billion dollars annually (839 million euros), according to CEO Michael O’Leary. Adding more industry. As well as mention In the middle, the repair center project adds to the heavy maintenance hangar that Ryanair has operated since 2019 next to the São Paulo airport, where it carries out comprehensive inspections of up to five aircraft simultaneously. However, both facilities will be separated. The hangar will focus exclusively on complete aircraft maintenance, while the new workshop will focus only on mechanical repair and engine supervision. According to share From ABC, it is expected that the infrastructure will have a useful life of at least 30 years. Route cutting. Not everything that Ryanair brings is good news for Seville, as the city will lose seven air connections this summer. São Paulo airport will go from 56 routes operated by the Irish airline to 49 destinations. Among the eliminated connections are Santiago de Compostela, Gran Canaria and Tenerife North in the national market, in addition to Weeze-Dusseldorf, Nuremberg, Frankfurt Hahn and Vienna in the international market. This withdrawal of operations at Spanish regional airports is no surprise. Ryanair focuses on its strategy reduce your operations in those airports that it considers “non-competitive” due to their airport taxes. The airline has eliminated 1.2 million seats in three consecutive cuts in the country’s regional airports, redistributing that capacity to markets such as Albania, Italy, Morocco, Slovakia and Sweden. The closure of bases in other Spanish airports indirectly affects Seville, according to explained the company to ABC, by eliminating connections that departed from those cities. cpartial compensation. Despite the reduction in destinations, Ryanair will add 17 weekly frequencies on 12 existing routes from Seville. Lisbon will add three new flights, Birmingham, Manchester and Bologna will add two each, while Edinburgh, Brussels, Catania, Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Pisa, Ibiza and Valencia will add an additional weekly flight. Furthermore, just as share From ABC, the airline will add two routes with Poland this summer: Krakow and Wrocław. The weight of Ryanair in Seville. The Irish airline operates 40% of the air connections at this airport and one of every four planes that leave the terminal is its own. Just like account ABC, in 2025, transported four million passengers from São Paulo, an increase of 1,900% compared to the 200,000 20 years ago, when it began operating in the city. Cover image | Kevin Hackert In Xataka | “It’s inhumane”: a Canadian low-cost airline is already experimenting with ultra-narrow seats for its passengers

It’s so cold in Europe that KLM has had to cancel more than 2,300 flights for one simple reason: antifreeze

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This 2026 has started off cold. In the Spanish state, the Temporary Francis It has made us spend the Three Kings’ night in snow, rain and cold and in the rest of Europe things have not been better. The mass of arctic air has spread across the continent and has been joined by the storm Gorettiwhich has caused the temperature in the Sierra Nevada to plummet to -17 degrees, part of France is on orange alert with power outages and mobility problems and in several countries in central Europe, heavy snowfall and the storm have caused chaos in transport, with flights and trains cancelled. One of the airlines affected is the Dutch KLM, which has seen cHow their planes are freezing at the airport from Amsterdam. Literally, because there is not enough antifreeze fluid to prevent it while the supplier that supplies that additive has run out of stock. Because just like cars that sleep on the street in the middle of winter, planes also freeze. Only with a vehicle it is enough to scratch the windows a little, start the engine with the heating on and in less than five minutes, it will be running. Too many days too cold Taking off with a frozen plane is not an option: ice affects the aerodynamic conditions of the aircraft, making takeoff and landing maneuvers especially dangerous. Furthermore, solving it is not so simple or immediate: there is a strict protocol which, although it may vary with each airline, is intended to ensure that the fuselage is free of contamination and there is no degradation of the aerodynamic or mechanical conditions. Within that protocol There is deicing on the ground: the plane must be sprayed with deicing liquid to remove ice or snow. Anti-icing is then used, another ice that prevents the plane from freezing again before takeoff and the ice or snow from falling off at that time. This operation is carried out every day in hundreds of airports around the world on thousands of planes. The problem is when for too many days it is too coldwhich results in having to use more defrosting fluid than usual. If there is no stock, that polar cold wave becomes dramatic in terms of cancellations. This is what has happened to KLM, which on January 2 announced that its operations at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport were going to suffer alterations. Almost a week later, they remained the same. Without going any further, Simple Flying with Flight Radar data echoes of the cancellation of 2,374 flights until January 7. To keep aircraft operational in this harsh winter, the Dutch airline is using 25 de-icing trucks continuously in Amsterdam, consuming approximately 85,000 liters per day of freezing point depressant fluids. Faced with the shortage, Reuters explains that KLM has already sent employees to its main supplier in Germany in search of more antifreeze stocks. KLM has warned that “Due to a combination of extreme weather conditions and delays in supply by the supplier, stocks are running out. This problem is currently spreading throughout Europe“. On January 8, logistics gave KLM a break in the form of the first supply of antifreeze of those more than 100,000 liters that are on their way to Schiphol. If this has happened in Amsterdam, how can it not happen in other cities further north like Helsinki? Well, paradoxically, it happens less: they are better prepared when it comes to considering needs and available stock. In Xataka | Vigo airport has enjoyed international flights for years. Until Ryanair declared war on Spain In Xataka | The triangles on the plane window are not for decoration: they are a quick way to check that the flight is going well Cover | David Syphers

Elon Musk needs to launch Starship from Florida to accelerate his plans. The problem: up to 13,200 delayed flights

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The airplanes will have to get used to sharing airspace with the largest rocket in the world. Especially when Elon Musk’s starship disembark in Florida in a few months. Starship’s double landing. The arrival of Starship to Cabo Cañaveral promises to revolutionize a region that, although it is accustomed to rocket launches, has not lived anything the same. The key is the planned launch frequency and the double landing of the system: first that of the Super Heavy propeller, more than 70 meters high, and then that of the ship itself, more than 50 meters. Although the public debate has focused so far In the sonic boom That produces each of these rockets when returning from space, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States has put on the table the possibility that Spacex’s plans to launch 120 starship a year delay between 8,800 and 13,200 commercial flights a year. Where those figures come from. According to him FAA reportthe launches and landings of the two stages of the rocket would force to divert the airplanes from the south of Florida to avoid the rocket trajectory. This could suppose delays for airports as important as those of Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. Each launch would require the closure of airspace in periods ranging from 40 minutes to two hours, which in times of traffic could affect between 133 and 400 flights. The landing of the Starship ship, which would happen hours later, would cause a new closure of the airspace between 40 minutes and one hour, affecting another 400 or 600 commercial airplanes. Spacex’s posture. Spacex insists that these estimates are too conservative. The company has published A statement in which he affirms that the areas of danger for the planes defined in FAA studies “are extremely conservative by nature and are destined to capture a compound of the entire range of the worst possible scenarios, not an operation in the real world.” Spacex argues that, as happened with their Falcon 9 rockets, the areas of aerial and sea exclusion will be reduced as data of the launches accumulate and the reliability of Starship is demonstrated. In fact, the airspace that Falcon 9 forces to close for Starlink missions have been reduced by 66% since 2022. A future of shared skies. Although Starship is a special case, it is only the last new generation rocket that reaches the Florida space coast. Other companies like Blue Origin and ULA have already launched His new New Glenn rockets and Vulcan From Cabo Cañaveral. According to a Ornaldo Sentinel analysisFlorida could approach the 400 rocket releases a year by the end of the decade. But that democratized access to space may require patience at the airport terminal. Image | Spacex In Xataka | There is already a date for the last flight of the Megacohete Starship as we know it: v3, heat what you go out

Japan is saturating from the hordes of foreign tourists. So in the country they have begun to give them free flights

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Japan is filling with tourists. Only during the first half of the year added 21.5 million of foreign visitors, 21% more than during the same period of 2024. There are many. Many. Enough to he overwhelming It has become a Debate theme priority and be giving wings to the formation of extreme right Sanseitō, who managed to stand out in the July elections with the motto “Japan first”. The problem is that, far from being distributed in the country, that tide of visitors is concentrated in certain mass points. There are those who want to solve it giving flights To tourists. What happened? That Japan Airlines (JAL), one of Japan’s main airlines, has had An idea peculiar so that foreign tourism becomes more bearable to the country’s mass destinations: give tickets. Literally. The idea is that foreigners visiting Japan have free flights that encourage them to go beyond Tokyo or Osaka and explore less known corners, such as Sapporo, Naha either Hakuba. The goal is double: relieve pressure at the busiest points in the country and, incidentally, give a small push to foreigners to visit places that would never include in their itineraries. What do they propose? The first thing to clarify is that it is not a new campaign. Aviation Wire I already talked about her in October 2024but with mass tourism in the center of the debate and Japan turned into one of the most demanded destinations in the world, the campaign has gained popularity again. In recent weeks, media have talked about it as Soranews24, Time out or the specialized website Travel and Tour Worldconfirming that the initiative was launched in autumn without completion date. The idea too He has echoed in Spain. What are your details? The campaign consists of giving national flights to foreign tourists so that they can move through Japan, although (as usually happens) it has a small print. It is not available for all visitors and even those who can opt for it must meet before A series of requirements. From the entry the offer is available to users of certain countries, such as the United States, Canada, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Vietnam or the Philippines, inter alia. In addition, the beneficiary travelers must reserve on their own the international round trip from their country of origin. Once in Japan it is when they can opt for one of the national tickets of JAL promotion, which must include in the same reserve. TTW precise An extra detail that demonstrates how the campaign aspires to relieve pressure in the most busy cities in the country: those visitors flying from the US, Canada, Mexico or China and decide to remain more than 24 hours in the city where they land (usually tokyo) must pay a rate of $ 100. Why is it important? Beyond the details of the campaign or if it really goes on account or not foreign tourists, Jal’s idea is interesting for another reason: it shows Japan’s attempts to make tourists’ avalanche more assumed and do not saturate its most popular destinations. That the initiative has had so much impact is also explained by who spears it: Japan Airlines is one of the main country airlines and on its website presume that your group has a total of 133 national routes and 66 international connections. This wide network of domestic connections is what intends to take advantage of foreigners explore places in the country less popular than Tokyo or the Las Geishas neighborhood of Kyoto, like ski slopes of Nisekothe reefs of Okinawathe mountains of Hakuba either Tomamu or the natural landscapes of Hearbetween a long (very long) and so on. In his favor he has the Encrying From Japan Rail Pass (JRP), which makes the plane win attractive in determining routes. So much tourism in Japan? Yes. The latest official statistics show that during the first half of the year he received 21.5 million of foreign tourists, a surprising fact for two reasons. The first, because it is a record for the country. The second, because it represents an increase of 21% with respect to the same semester of 2024, which gives an idea of the accelerated rhythm to which the sector is growing. Only in June the flow of foreign visitors grew by 7.6%. That boom has come accompanied by the arrival of Millions of dollarsbut has also submitted to the country (especially the most massive destinations) to A pressure that has electorally fed the formation of the extreme right Sanseito, which relies on A speech antituristic and antimigratory. The clearest example of that overwhelming It is located in three busy places: the Fuji, where They have started to charge a rate; The neighborhood of the Geishas de Kyoto, where They have prohibited to “paparazzi tourists”; And Fujikawaguchiko, who has had to cover his views to avoid the hordes of tourists to hunt the best Selfie. Does it work to give flights? It does not seem. As the statistics demonstrate, Japan continues to win tourists and Tokyo remains in The lists of the busiest places. The director of JapaneseLaura Tomàs, acknowledges in An interview with The confidential that the campaign also has some clear weak points. “The routes do not always fit the schedules, the information is not clearly communicated and in many cases the tourist ends up opting for the known.” Images | Matt Cramblett (UNSPLASH), Nomadic Julien (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Japan will copy Venice to stop mass tourism. Two levels of transport price: the tourist pays more

ESA prepares for a hypersonic leap. Invictus is his letter to compete with China and the USA on extreme flights

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Just a couple of decades ago, take off from a conventional track and fly five times faster than sound seemed reserved for science fiction. Today, the European Space Agency (ESA) He wants to pave that path with Invictusa Experimental hypersonic platform that could transform the way the old continent accesses space. Invictus is not a missile neither a military plane nor a vertical pitcher. It is an aircraft concept conceived to fly to Mach 5, take off horizontally and return intact to be reused. Its modular structure – you must exchange materials, motors and software – will allow to test very different configurations throughout several campaigns. We are talking about a program funded through instruments such as General support technology program (GSTP) and the Element of Technological Development (Tde) of ESA. The key is to provide Europe with its own technological base on a land dominated by the United States and China. The great enemy is not speed: it is the scoring temperature Reaching Mach 5 does not depend only on engine power. The great obstacle is thermal: friction on the fuselage raises the external temperature to Extreme levels and converts incoming oxygen into a gas that cannot be compressed or used directly. In this sense, Invictus will integrate an engine Early Hydrogen fed, whose thermal exchanger will be able to cool air at more than 1,000 ° C in dozens of milliseconds. “It will provide an invaluable opportunity to test the entire motor flow route, from air intake to the postquemor, at a real scale in an integrated aircraft,” David Perigo, chief engineer of ESA said. Technology does not start from zero. Reaction Engines developed KNOWan atmospheric-aorbital hybrid engine supported in its day by ESA. After the entry in company administration in 2024, part of its team and intellectual property went to Frazer-NASH, which now moves that know-how To Invictus. What were previously laboratory tests will be integrated for the first time into a complete and reusable aircraft, a key step towards European space aircraft. The strategic background is clear: if Invictus demonstrates its viability, Europe could move towards orbital planes capable of carrying out civil and military missions with a difficult rapid and flexibility to match conventional vertical rockets. The Consortium —frazer-NASH in front, together with Spirit Aerosystems and Cranfield University-has 12 months and 7 million euros of initial financing to deliver the complete preliminary design of the vehicle, indispensable step before programming the testing campaigns in flight. The internal calendar points to a first demonstration flight around 2031. While the United States and China compete to dominate hypersonic flight, Europe does not want to stay in the barrier. With Invictus, that spears a clear message: the continent intends to design the future access to space in its own terms. Images | THAT | Frazer-Nash In Xataka | Jeff Bezos’s space company has advanced Spacex in a key milestone to go to the moon and Mars: zero evaporation

The European Parliament has taken a step to shield free hand luggage on flights. It is not the plan that supports the 27

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The European Parliament wants hand luggage to be what was once: part of the ticket, not an extra. This week has taken a key step So that each passenger can climb on board with a bag and a small suitcase without paying one more penny. On paper sounds good. But the road is long, the text is not yet definitive and some airlines, which have been charging for almost everything for years, They already warned in their day: If they are forced to include it for free, they will compensate it on the other hand. What includes the proposal. The reform raised by Brussels does not remain alone in the luggage. But start there. The approved text In a meeting of the Transportation Commission It establishes that passengers should have the right to embark with a bag or backpack (up to 40 × 30 × 15 cm) and a small piece of hand luggage (up to 100 cm in total and 7 kg of weight), all without surcharge. The resolution also states that children under 12 have insured a seat adjacent to their companion without paying for the selection, and that people with reduced mobility have more guarantees. Among them, to be able to travel with an assistant without paying tickets when necessary, and being compensated if your help equipment is damaged or your assistance animal is injured. And prepare more changes. One of the most delicate points of the reform has to do with multimodal paths: those in which the trip combines train, bus and plane, for example. Today, if a connection is lost in that type of itineraries, the passenger can be unprotected. Transport Eurodiputados want to change that. The proposal seeks that if the whole journey has been hired with a single company or platform, the passenger is entitled to assistance (food, accommodation) and, if the seller did not indicate the type of ticket, to the full refund plus 75% compensation. All that, provided that the lost connection implies a delay of at least 60 minutes. The air sector, uncomfortable. The Association of Airlines (Wing) He has lamented That the European Parliament is “limiting the freedom” of passengers to choose the services they need. Criticize that the proposal generates confusion and moves away of the line agreed a few weeks ago by the Member States in the EU Council. What comes now. It should be noted that the reform is not yet closed. The text approved by the Transportation Commission – by 38 votes in favor, 2 against and 2 abstentions – must go through the Plenary of Parliament in July, and then begin the negotiation process with the Member States. That’s where many of the initial proposals usually soften. In parallel, airlines press so that the final text does not impose obligations that affect their tariff structure. The great unknown is whether the free of hand luggage will end up armored or if it will remain, once again, subject to interpretation. Until then, everything remains the same: each airline maintains its luggage policy. Images | Cameron Cox | Michał Parzuchowski In Xataka | Vigo airport has released a novel and digital control tower. There is only one problem: complaints about security

No one has been aware of the danger of some commercial flights in the US. A phone off three years is to blame

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The scene is still remembered for the unlikely. On January 29, a mobile camera recorded what seemed unthinkable. In the middle of the night, on the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, a military Black Hawk helicopter approached until face a plane American Airlines Commercial. 67 people died becoming the most deadly plane crash in the United States since 2001. It has now been known that the danger was much greater. Dead line and silence. The American media They have launched A news shocking. For more than three years, a direct (and criticism) communication line between the air controllers of the Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon Heliport Tower has remained completely inoperativea without the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to know. This disconnection, confirmed by A senior FAA official Before the Senate, it came to light only after an incident that occurred on May 1, when two commercial planes were forced to abort their landing due to the presence of an army helicopter that flew in circles on the Pentagon. The line, managed by the Department of Defense, had disconnected in March 2022 And it was not detected until after the event, which reveals an alarming lack of coordination between the agencies responsible for the most restricted and sensitive airs He left 67 dead. Bureaucratic clashes. What’s doubt, the finding has unleashed visible tensions Between the FAA and the Department of Defense, with mutual accusations on whom it breaches the security protocols. While the Secretary of Transportation has pointed out violations by the military, they insist that they have respected the current restrictions. In the Senate, figures like Tammy Duckworth, former Black Hawk pilot, and Dan Sullivan expressed their outrage at the Lack of clear answers and the apparent institutional passivity. The commission listened to how the airport drivers, both the day of the January accident and in the recent May incident, assumed multiple functions simultaneouslya practice that increases the workload and reduces operational safety margins. FAA’s own air traffic deputy director, Franklin Mcintosh, acknowledged that the agency He did not know that the line was dropped and that it should have detected it much earlier. A chain of failures. Apparently, after the January accident, the FAA restricted the routes Helicopters near the airport, but military, police and doctors flights have continued to operate, causing more conflicts with commercial traffic. According to McIntoshthe agency came to suspend the agreement that allows military helicopters to fly without prior authorization from FAA, but the army announced on its own the suspension of flights to the Pentagon while reviewing their procedures. The problem? That the May incident showed that the problems persistand that the army continues to operate on compromised routes without full coordination. The lack of transparency by the army, referring to the sensitive nature of its missions, has hindered supervision efforts, and former NTSB researchers and FAA warn that this opacity It is no longer sustainable Under the current scrutiny. Errors and more errors. Explained the post That the situation in the Washington area is not an isolated case. During the same audience, the Senate also addressed the technical and personnel problems at Newark airport, which has suffered days of delays due to lack of controllers and unreliable technology. Despite the statements of the Secretary of Transportation ensuring that the airport is safe, it transpired that He diverted a flight from his wife In Laguardia, which sowed doubts about the confidence in air infrastructure. But there is much more. Fortune told that a commercial flight had to perform an evasive maneuver after approaching dangerously Four military fighters that were directed to a ceremonial act in Arlington, and all because of a coordination error between regional controllers and the Reagan tower. In total, at least have been registered 85 quasi collisions In that same airspace during the three years prior to the January clash, a figure that should have activated at least institutional alarms much earlier. A system under pressure. In summary, the prolonged disconnection of a critical line between two maximum risk facilities, combined with the slowness in institutional responses and the fragmentation of the command between civilians and military, seem to evidence A system under stresswhose fissures, as has already happened In JanuaryThey may have mortal consequences if urgent measures are not taken. That direct line between the Pentagon and Reagan became, by omission, in symbol of a fractured command chain. That without having something that many means of the country also pose: the fact that on the most powerful capital in the world, in a scenario of growing tension like the current one, it continues to depend on ordinary telephones to avoid another air tragedy. Image | Bigbirdz In Xataka | The incredible history of Kansai’s Japanese airport: was built on an artificial island and has been sinking for years In Xataka | We have been waiting for years at airports for years. Tiktok’s “airport theory” believes that it has been a mistake

Ryanair has been carefree for time for delays on his flights. And in Zaragoza a judge has decided to make him pay

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There are sentences that seem anecdotal but, basically, have their importance. When a judge opts in favor of one side or another it is important because he is not only offering his vision of a fact, he is raiding the way for, in the future, his sentence is taken as a sentence for a similar case. When these decisions are made by a superior court, it is called jurisprudence And it serves, as we said, to apply the same criteria in the future. In spite of everything, the conclusions of the lower organs are also important because they can serve as the basis for defense or accusation later. That is why it is important to attend to the results that Ryanair is receiving in the courts. In recent months, with the Fund government finemost of the news that arrives are related to the collection by the cabin suitcase. Sentences that are important because, even, Justice itself does not seem to agree. Despite this, the company continues to receive complaints for another series of reasons. A few days ago the case of an old man who was prevented from returning to Spain was viracied because Ryanair workers assured that the document with which he was flying was not valid. They defended that the permanent ID, that in Spain it is given to people with more than 70 yearsit could not be used as a legal document to fly. Now we have known that Ryanair has received a new varapalo. You will have to compensate a passenger for the delay of a flight. Not because of the fact of being late, specifically because the judge who has led the case is clear that the company did not put all possible means to ensure that the flight left in time. Lighting, which is gerund The news brings it eldiario.eswho echoes the judgment of the Court of First Instance number 10 of Zaragoza. Its headline has confirmed that Ryanair will have to disburse 250 euros to compensate for a passenger who saw his flight delayed in three hours. The important thing here is that the judge points out that nothing extraordinary did not happen so that The flight will be delayedpulling the main defense argument of the company. This allegation is what the airlines usually use to try to deny compensation due to a flight delay, such as It can be read on the company’s own website. According to the claims platform. (who has led the defense of the passenger)many times they are told passengers that “they have no right to compensation because the incidence has occurred due to a cause of force majeure that was unpredictable for the airline, but that in many occasions the end of this argument is to avoid economically compensating passengers because in reality such extraordinary circumstance has not been produced.” In this case, the defense of the passenger claimed that the company could have had an alternative plan if they had taken the appropriate measures. Something that the judge coincides who in her letter has stressed that the company was aware that the flight was going to be delayed because in its previous route the plane was already traveling late. However, he did not launch any alternative plan and limited himself, exclusively, to delaying the next flight. For the judge, aware that the flight between Porto and London already circulated with a “serious delay”, the company should have contemplated how it could prevent the flight between London and Zaragoza from being delayed. Instead of letting the dominoes fell, in Ryanair, they should have sought a way to Avoid this last delay But, instead, they simply maintained their initial plan and waited for it to be replicated on the flight of the affected passenger. In her letter, the judge also emphasizes that “the fact that a plane is assigned to several flights in a short period of time only obeys a business decision, cost reduction, etc. but that gives rise to assume a clear risk that an incidence in one of them affects all the remaining flights assigned to the aircraft.” That should not be a reason, however, to correct the problem. The judgment of this Spanish court follows the line of the decreed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (TJUE) That last year he sentenced that airlines have to compensate passengers whenever they fail to demonstrate that they took all reasonable measures to avoid a delay, even in the face of “extraordinary circumstances” that has been based on what their defenses have been based so far. Photo | Ryanair In Xataka | Ryanair has found a new formula to win more for a ticket: force you to 100% digital shipment

Ryanair continues to sell flights at bus price and still earns a lot of money. Your business starts after check-in

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An any of April. Madrid-Milán for 15 euros. The passenger clicks “accept” without thinking. At five clicks – 10 kilos pole, seat selection, priority boarding -, The amount already exceeds 60. Uugh. Ryanair is enough that arithmetic as simple as relentless to show off record benefits while their rivals scratch cents or directly lose money. Where is the magic? Why does its cost structure seem unbeatable? Accounts against intuition Ryanair’s last fiscal year closed with a benefit of almost 2,000 million and a solid growth over 2023: 1,920 million euros of net profit. Year -on -year growth of 34%. 13,440 million euros in income. 183.7 million transported passengers. Average occupation of 94% in its airplanes. All according to Your annual report of 2024. By 2025 it plans to go further, and it is already on the way to exceed 200 million travelers. In a sector where even Lufthansa (4%) or Air France-KLM (2%) barely reach margins of a digit, Ryanair moves comfortably in the environment of 14-15%net profitability, according to Capa analysis. Let’s see why. It does not give benefits to fly, but for everything else Ryanair has been refining a mantra for years: disaggregate the trip to the last screw and collect for everything that happens before, during and after the seat of the plane. There are several concepts there, but first of all, one stands out: that of the Auxiliary incomewhich reached 4.3 billion euros in 2024, one third of the billing, and 23.4 euros per passenger, according to their results report. What are they? Luggage. From the cabin suitcase to billing. From 12 or 13 euros to 75 euros according to the season. Seat and priority. Choose place, travel with the family or the group in contiguous seats or embark first, part of 3 or 4 euros and can reach 35 euros. Sales on board. From snacks and drinks to raffles or Duty-Free. Third Party Commissions. Hotels, rental cars, insurance … Everything is inserted in the purchase flow to capture margin without even their own inventory. Subscriptions and gift cards. As choice fidelity programs. We could put in the equation even to institutional advertising. A reef. Cantabria is paying 18 million euros in four years for Ryanair to “promote” the brand on its website and maintain routes, he revealed eldiario.es. This proposal touches the Freemium And in fact nine years ago The CEO said That “within five to ten years, prices will be free, in that case the flights will be full”, referring to the possibility of monetizing both the aforementioned roads, and with the distribution of airport income. It is not something that has happened or seems that it will happen, at least within the period. The cost that fits in a backpack Ryanair presumes that Fly costs 34 euros per passengernot counting the fuel. The figure comes from an internal slide projected in Milan and exhibited by The Flight Club. If we crumble it … Staff: 8 euros. It lowers it with multipurpose crews and flexible contracts. Airport and Handling: 8 euros. It resorts to local subsidies, bases in secondary (cheaper) airports and the payment of minimum rates Property and maintenance. 8 euros. Its homogeneous fleet of Boeing 737 that lowers with mass orders that derive in large discounts. Routes and navigation. 6 euros. It resorts to point flights, without connections that make the final price more expensive. Others. 4 euros. Little for a minimal business structure and the use of free or low cost viral marketing. To compare: Easyjet, your rival Low Costhas a cost of more than double, 79 euros per person. Wizz Air leaves it at 52 euros. Always without counting the fuel. The traditional ones, such as Lufthansa, can go above 160 euros. That is what we add the increasing number of people who fly with Ryanair. There are four key levers that are worth highlighting: Unique and dense fleet. Those mentioned 737 (has more than half a thousand of thema good part of those of 197 places) consume 16% less fuel per seat and add 4% capacity. Simple mathematics. Express rotation. Since an airplane touches wheels until it takes again as soon as half an hour passes. That allows each plane to fly more hours and distribute amortization on more flights and more seats. Digital approach. He Check-in face -to -face costs 55 euros. A deterrence for most, a tariff for the accommodation in the analog. The result is that 99% do it online and Ryanair barely needs counter. AND wants to go further. Low profile airports. Stansted instead of Heathrow, Beauvais instead of Charles de Gaulle. Rates can be up to 80% cheaper and times direct and indirect public aid in order to preserve routes can compensate. The undercover subsidies, by the way, are overcoming borders and Morocco is following that wake. Spain, perfect laboratory The relationship of Spain with Ryanair is unique. This airline It controls almost 20% of flights that land or take off in Spain. The following in the ranking, at a certain distance, are also Low Cost. Besides, Spain is Ryanair’s second marketonly behind Italy and above the United Kingdom, with 2,416 million euros in revenue last year. However, the Fine of 179 million euros to airlines Low Cost imposed by the Ministry of Consumer in November also Ryanair splashed fully, who was charged 108 of those millionsreceivable hand luggage. O’Leary, the CEO, in its unbridled line, He called “Crazy Communist” Minister Pablo Bustinduy at a press conference threatened to cut routes in protest of what he considered an “illegal” fine. These types of orders are not isolated, but a usual play: it is enough to pronounce that threat to, very often, get the authorities to give up, although sometimes it does not happen and in fact Spain is getting tired of them. Is what has happened for example In Valladolid and Jerez this year. Some airports depend on their traffic in 60%, Ryanair knows it and plays with it in his favor to … Read more

Ryanair tense the rope more and threatens the government with removing more regional airport flights

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This summer, Ryanair will offer 800,000 places less in Spanish airports. It is the announcement that the company made last January as a counterweight measure to what it considers abusive Aena. Now, the company threatens the government again with withdrawing journeys from its less busy lines. 800,000 seats. They announced him last January and the plan is already being carried out. Ryanair will offer 800,000 seats less this summer with the elimination of routes within Spain or the reduction of some of the existing ones. In its statement, the company indicated that the reason for this reduction in the offered journeys were “the excessive rates and the lack of effectiveness of the ‘incentive plans’ of the AENA monopolistic airport operator, which are completely ineffective to support the growth policy of the growth of regional airports.” The affected airports. In its statement, Ryanair specified which airports are those that would suffer a reduction in the offered routes and in which would completely close their operations: Jerez: Closing Valladolid: Closing Vigo: 61% less journeys Santiago 28% less journeys Zaragoza: 20% less journeys Asturias: 11% less journeys Santander: 5% less journeys Where it hurts: Ryanair knows the force it has In these airports and, therefore, it has been their pressure measure against the rates that Aena charges in them. In Valladolid, for example, the number of trips has been drastically reduced and the company’s departure is dismissal. Valladolid is just an example of the fall in international operations caused by Ryanair’s departure. In Santander, for example, his departure causes that only the Canary Islands, Madrid and Barcelona can fly. International trips will be injured in death. Jerez aspired to recover the number of travelers before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2025 but Ryanair’s march It should prevent this from happening. What is paid. Ryanair is aware of the fragility of these routes. Their volume is low, so, they say, they prefer to reorganize these planes and send them to routes that have been growing. In fact, if the company had been operating in these places, it is because there were many facilities by Aena (which Ryanair does not consider enough) and for the interest of regional governments. Airlines charged rates have a cost of 10.35 euros per passenger and are used to guarantee basic services such as cleaning or safety at airports. From Aena they insist that They are “of the lowest in Europe”although in 2021 a freezing was announced until 2026 but in 2024 they rose 4.9%. At the end of last year, CNMC frozen prices again by 2025. Yes, but bonus. However, in airports with less passenger volume, Aena’s fees have multiple bonuses in order to attract a greater number of airlines, to the point that the company can pay only two euros per passenger, according to the AENA last proposal. But, in addition, there is another reason why companies maintain flights in these airports: undercover subsidies. In eldiario.es They explain how regional governments deliver under advertising contracts. So, The Cantabria government delivered 18 million euros Ryanair last summer and Vigo disbursed 625,000 euros to guarantee the Vigo-London route For three years. “Terminal Decadence”. With these words, Eddie Wilson, CEO of the company, has described, which in his opinion is getting the government with regional airports. Words have expressed them in an interview to electionomista.es and in it he has threatened to get more flights from Spain if the course of policies in relation to rates is not changed. “There will be more cuts in the winter of 2025, and even more in the summer of 2026, because it makes no sense to continue investing in deficit operations. The rational decision is to move the traffic where the access costs are falling, not increasing, so we will continue to do so little by little. We have no plans to invest in regional airports because its price structure is broken,” says Wilson in his interview. Without specifying what these cuts would be, Wilson points out that “regional airports are underutilized by 70%, so something does not work. Or people do not want to go to the regions, or airlines do not want to put airplanes there.” More tensions. From Aena, he collects the digital medium, ignores Ryanair’s threats and emphasize that “when Ryanair recovers their presence, we will be institutionally receiving them with open arms”, in the words of its President Maurici Lucena. And emphasize that current policies “allow deficit airports to remain open in optimal conditions without appealing Spanish taxpayers.” At the same time, from Vigo they have sanctioned the company with 17,414 euros of fine for unilaterally reducing the flights scheduled last summer. The company has resorted to but Vigo’s City Council has rejected its writing. In addition, Vigo understands that he has breached the aforementioned contract of advertising when considering that the company has unilaterally broken it, so a sanctioning file for this reason is also underway. And it is not the last controversy that the company has starred in recent weeks. Although the decision aimed to apply this summer, Ryanair has announced that next winter will apply a zero paper policy with which he aspires to bind passengers To use only digital shipping cards and use your mobile phone. Photo | Nejc Soklič In Xataka | Spain has tired of Ryanair’s practices. And the airline is going to hit where it hurts the most: the provinces airports

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