Ryanair to carry 12 million through Dublin this year

Ryanair expects to carry 12 million passengers through Dublin Airport this year.

The airline announced its Dublin Easter 2017 schedule on Thursday, three months earlier than usual,

It will offer more than 80 services from the Irish airport next April, including sunshine destinations and European capitals.

Ryanair's spokesman,Robin Kiely, noted that the airline grew traffic in Ireland by 70 per cent last year.

“Ryanair is continuing to grow strongly at Dublin, and will carry 12 million customers through Dublin Airport this year, supporting 9,000 jobs,” he said.

A record 25 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport in 2015 and early indications are that this year’s total will surpass that.

Ryanair Rooms

Meanwhile, the airline said it is set to compete in the accommodation market, launching “Ryanair Rooms” as it seeks to become “the Amazon of air travel”.

The airline already offers customers the chance to book hotel rooms when they buy flights, but the new service will expand this to include hostels, B&B, holiday villas and homestay options. The current hotel booking is provided in partnership with accommodation site Booking.com.

“Ryanair Rooms” is expected to launch on October 1st. The company is now seeking submissions from firms who want to partner with Ryanair to provide accommodation through the new service.

Those who join with the firm will have access to more than 116 million passsengers a year

Ryanair’s head of marketing, Kenny Jacobs, said the airline was planning to transform accommodation booking and disrupt the travel industry.

“More and more customers are looking to Ryanair for products other than flights, and we see this as a natural progression towards Ryanair.com becoming the Amazon of air travel,” he said.

“It also echoes the change in demand from customers for different types of accommodation, which in turn will be reflected by the varied range ‘Ryanair Rooms’ will offer – from five-star hotel rooms to independent homestay.”

‘Always getting better’

Ryanair said the move was part of the “Always getting better” programme that it began three years ago in an attempt to improve its customer care. Among the improvements were the overhaul of its website, the addition of mobile boarding cards, and a reduction in the fees charged for checked bags, including those booked at the airport.

In recent years,Ryanair has used its site to upsell customers on everything from travel insurance to airport parking, but the overhaul of its website saw the ancilliary services condensed on the site, making it quicker and easier for potential travellers to book their flights.

The company has also implemented a package aimed at business travellers and another for families, introduced reserved seating and unveiled a new app with a “My Ryanair” service intended to offer a more personalised service to those who sign up heading up its new digital-focused strategy.