O’Leary ready to pounce as Ryanair’s rivals crumble

Airlines are facing their worst crisis in a generation and Michael O’Leary is in no mood to waste it. As rivals have collapsed and retreated, the Ryanair CE is on the hunt for opportunities to increase the Irish airline’s dominance of European airspace. “I have never in my 30 years in the industry seen such a clean-out,” Mr O’Leary told the Financial Times in an interview. “The real seismic change from Covid will be the growth opportunities across Europe. They are much greater than after the financial crisis or 9/11.” Airline capacity has been gutted during the pandemic, creating a window for survivors to fill the gaps once people start flying again. Thomas Cook and Flybe have collapsed while Norwegian — until recently a big operator in the European market — has entered administration. O’Leary predicted that 100m of his competitors’ seats would be taken out over the next 18 months, around a 15% reduction on normal passenger traffic. “Somebody has to step up and take that capacity” he said, adding that he was in discussions with airports in Italy and Spain, which had been Norwegian customers, about filling those slots with Ryanair planes. O’Leary has cultivated a reputation for outlandish claims as he has overseen more than two decades of near continuous growth at Ryanair, based on slashing costs and maximising efficiencies to undercut rivals and take their passengers. But low-cost carriers are widely expected to lead the recovery in flying because the short-haul and leisure markets they serve will rebound faster than intercontinental and business travel. “The shape of the demand recovery favours airlines exposed to short-haul leisure traffic,” said Daniel Roeska, aviation analyst at Bernstein.<br/>