Plenty of passengers were flying home for Christmas according to Ryanair Holdings Plc’s (LON:RYA) traffic statistics for December, which revealed a 9% increase compared to the previous year.
A total of 11.2mln passengers travelled with the European budget airline last month, up from 10.3mln in December 2018.
Similarly, the statistic for Ryanair’s rolling annual traffic increased by 9% to 152.4mln passengers up from 140.2mln in the preceding rolling twelve-month period.
The positive stats may provide only minor distraction for investors though as the airline industry continues to struggle against challenging market conditions, not least the negative impacts of the ongoing Boeing Max crisis.
READ: Ryanair and TUI descend as Boeing suspends production of MAX aircraft
Ryanair is, according to reports, braced for further delays to the delivery of previously ordered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft – the model that has been grounded on safety concerns following two crashes.
The budget airline has an order for 135 jets to expand its fleet and it had originally anticipated deliveries starting in summer 2019. It is now claimed by chief executive Michael O’ Leary that Ryanair will receive much fewer jets, and, it may not receive any jets until October 2020.
As is perhaps typical of Ryanair and O’Leary, the group is taking a somewhat different approach to securing compensation for the Boeing delays.
Unlike rival airlines such as Turkish Air, Southwest Airlines and TUI which have all agreed compensation, O’Leary claims Ryanair won’t begin to negotiate until its planes are delivered and the full impact is known.