Ryanair chief: airline will grow at expense of weakened rivals

Eddie Wilson credits the Traffic Recovery Scheme, which offers airlines a rebate for restoring traffic, with Ryanair’s decision to invest heavily in Dublin

Eddie Wilson, Ryanair chief executive: ‘We opened 16 bases this year and we opened them because we were opportunistic on cost.’ Picture: Fergal Phillips

Ryanair’s strong balance sheet will afford it the opportunity to aggressively pursue airport discounts and grow its market share at the expense of weakened rivals over the medium-term, its chief executive has said.

Eddie Wilson said there was “huge competition” among airports to attract airlines’ business as pandemic travel restrictions are eased across Europe.

The low-cost carrier was well capitalised to benefit as other airlines struggled to cope with the financial impacts of the Covid-19 ...