RESEARCH SHOWS A WHOPPING 62% OF PEOPLE BUY GIFTS IN THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

With only two weeks to go until the big day, last-minute shoppers will rejoice in the news that Ryanair’s digital gift cards are available to order online at Ryanair.com right up until Christmas Day.

With research showing that majority of people (62%) buy gifts in the week before Christmas, you are guaranteed you won’t be the only one scrambling from shop to shop, so avoid the hustle and bustle and order a digital Ryanair gift card from the comfort of your own home which will be conveniently delivered straight to your inbox within minutes – it’s that quick and easy! Starting from just €25, Ryanair’s gift cards can be used to book your next trip to any of the airline’s 230+ destinations across Europe – the only problem now is deciding where to go!

Ryanair Holdings plc today (7 Dec.) announced the appointment of Ms. Anne Nolan (former Chair of the Irish Aviation Authority – IAA) to its Board as a NED.  The Group also confirmed that agreement has been reached with Group CEO, Michael O’Leary to extend his contract from July 2024 to July 2028.

Anne Nolan – NED:

The Board today announced the appointment of Ms. Anne Nolan as a non-executive director (“NED”) with immediate effect.  Ms. Nolan is a former Chair of the IAA (from 2010 to 2018) and previously served as Chief Executive of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association.  She has also served on various Boards incl. the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the Irish Medicines Board, the Executive Committee of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and the Board of the Smurfit Graduate School of Business.

Michael O’Leary – Group CEO:

The Board confirmed (following some months of discussions with Michael O’Leary (“MOL”) and extensive engagement with larger shareholders) that they have today agreed a contract extension which will see MOL remain as Group CEO until the end of July 2028 (previously July 2024). Under this extended contract the final vesting date for share options granted in 2019 will be extended to 2028 (from 2024), subject to MOL remaining in employment with the Group until July 2028 and delivering stretched performance targets (incl. raised PAT targets of up to €2.2bn and/or a share price of €21) which will considerably reward all shareholders if these ambitious targets are delivered.  If these targets are not achieved then these share options will lapse and MOL will receive nothing other than his basic salary. An amended Remuneration Policy, reflecting these changes, will be tabled at Ryanair’s 2023 AGM.

Ryanair’s Chairman Stan McCarthy said:

“I am pleased to welcome Anne Nolan to the Board as Ryanair’s newest NED.  Anne brings considerable aviation, business and regulatory experience to the role.  We all look forward to working with her over the coming years to achieve Ryanair’s ambitious growth and environmental goals.

The Board are also pleased that Michael O’Leary has agreed to extend his leadership of the Ryanair Group to July 2028.  During this time Michael will oversee the Group’s growth to 225m passengers p.a. and, with Board support and oversight, develop the Group’s strategy to the end of the decade.   This contract extension, which involved extensive engagement with large shareholders and proxy advisors, is subject to the adoption of an amended Remuneration Policy which will be tabled at Ryanair’s 2023 AGM.” 

16 ROUTES INCL. NEW WEEKLY LANZAROTE ROUTE

Ryanair, Europe and Ireland’s no. 1 airline, today (8 Dec) announced its biggest ever Knock schedule with 16 routes, incl. an exciting new route to Lanzarote for Summer ‘23. The airline will operate over 120 weekly flights to/from Ireland West Airport Knock next summer (+15% growth vs. S22), driving invaluable inbound tourism and offering its West and North-West customers unbeatable choice and the lowest fares when booking their summer holidays.

Ryanair’s Knock Summer ‘23 schedule will deliver:

– 16 total routes incl. 1 new Lanzarote route

– Increased frequencies on 5 routes incl. Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands and Manchester 

– Over 120 weekly flights (+15% vs S‘22)

– Supporting over 580 local jobs

Ryanair has operated at Ireland West Airport Knock for the past 37 years and this new record Summer schedule will not only provide Ryanair’s West and North-West customers with recession busting fares across an unbeatable selection of sunny hotspots and vibrant European city break destinations next Summer but will continue to promote important rural development through Ryanair’s support of over 580 local jobs and delivery of even greater connectivity with Europe and its millions of holidaymakers.

To celebrate, Ryanair is launching a limited-time seat sale with fares from just €29.99 for travel from 1 Apr ‘23 until end of Oct ‘23, which must be booked by midnight 10 Dec on www.ryanair.com. 

Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan, said:

“As Europe and Ireland’s most reliable airline, Ryanair is delighted to announce even more growth for the West/North-West with our biggest ever Knock schedule, offering over 120 weekly flights (+15% vs S’22) across 16 routes, incl. our exciting new Lanzarote route, for Summer ’23.

With such a vast selection of sunny hotspots and city break destinations to choose from, as well as increased frequencies across popular UK routes like, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands and Manchester, there really is something for everyone, whether heading away for a bit of rest and relaxation with the family, taking a weekend break to soak up some culture in one of Europe’s vibrant cities or simply looking for a stone-throw trip to the UK for a fun-filled night out with friends.

To mark today’s good news, we’ve launched a limited-time seat sale for early bird customers looking to bag themselves a recession busting bargain on their Summer ’23 holiday with fares starting from just €29.99 available now on Ryanair.com.”

Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport commented:

“2023 is shaping up to be the busiest year on record at Ireland West Airport and with flights to 16 different destinations with Ryanair next year, there is huge choice available for our customers in the West, North-West and further afield. Ryanair’s continued growth is a huge vote of confidence in the airport and the region, and we’d like to thank them for their continued support and commitment to the airport. We look forward to welcoming the Lanzarote service back to the airport next summer and to working with Ryanair in promoting their record summer schedule next year.”

Ryanair today (7 Dec) condemned the EU Commission’s failure to support the vote of the European Parliament to extend ETS (enviro taxes) onto long haul flights which account for over 54% of EU aviation emissions but deliver just 6% of EU passengers. As a result of this indefensible exemption for the richest passengers flying to/from the EU, it is Europe’s short haul passengers who will continue to pay an unfair burden of 100% ETS, while generating less than half of EU aviation emissions.

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary said:

“Yet again the Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen has abandoned the environment and Europe’s ordinary families. The Commission’s failure to support the Parliament vote means that Europe’s most polluting flights (long-haul and transfer passengers) who create the majority of EU aviation emissions, will continue to be exempt from paying their fair share of ETS taxes. While the richest Americans, Europeans, and Asians on long haul flights pay zero enviro taxes, Europe’s most price sensitive passengers and their families travelling on short-haul flights, many to the peripheral Member States such as Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus, and who have NO ALTERNATIVE to flying, are forced to pay all of Europe’s ETS taxes, while they generate less than half of EU aviation emissions. This is clearly unfair.

Yet again, Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission have let down Europe’s citizens and Europe’s environment.”

Ryanair Holdings plc today (Fri, 2 Dec) released Nov. traffic statistics as follows:

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline and global energy group, Shell, today (Thurs 1 Dec.) signed a Memo of Understanding (MOU) to advance the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at over 200 Ryanair airports across Europe, with particular focus on SAF supply at RYR’s largest bases like Dublin and London Stansted.

While SAF is a key enabler of aviation decarbonisation, it currently accounts for just a small fraction of worldwide jet fuel usage. This agreement with Shell gives Ryanair potential access to 360,000 tonnes (120m gallons) of SAF between 2025 and 2030, saving over approx. 900,000 tonnes in CO₂ emissions (equiv. to over 70,000 flights from Dublin to Milan). The SAF that is covered by this MoU could potentially be produced from multiple different technology pathways and a broad range of sustainable feedstocks.

This agreement, which was signed at the Sustainable Aviation Research Centre in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) this morning (where Ryanair and TCD held an Aviation Sustainability Day), demonstrates both Ryanair and Shell’s commitment to work together to invest in SAF supply fuels. Ryanair has set itself ambitious targets of 12.5% SAF by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

Speaking at Ryanair’s Sustainability Day in TCD, Sustainability Director, Thomas Fowler said:

“SAF plays a key role in our Pathway to Net Zero strategy, and also our commitment to a target of 12.5% SAF by 2030. Today’s agreement with Shell helps Ryanair secure access to c.20% of this ambitious goal. Shell is a key sustainability partner for Ryanair, and we look forward to building on this collaboration with Shell as our Group grows sustainably to carry 225m passengers annually by FY26.”

President of Shell Aviation, Jan Toschka, added:

“It is fantastic to build on our existing relationship with Ryanair to now look at what we can achieve together on sustainability. This initial agreement demonstrates that both companies recognise that SAF is the key to unlock a net zero future for aviation. We share the same ambition to enable Ryanair’s passengers to fly lower carbon. Leadership and bold actions are needed to accelerate the decarbonisation of flight, and today’s announcement is a great example of this.”

Ryanair, Ireland’s leading airline, has today (30 Nov) announced a major recruitment drive to fill over 150 tech roles for Software Development, BI professionals, Security, Infrastructure & Operations, Project Planning & Delivery and QA Engineers. These important hires will help Ryanair deliver cutting edge projects, emerging technologies and driving digital transformation for Europe’s No.1 airline as it grows to carry 225 million passengers by 2026.

To help fill these new and exciting tech roles, Ryanair is hosting an informal open evening at Ryanair Labs in Swords, Dublin on Thurs, 1 Dec from 17.00 – 19.30 showcasing roles and initiatives that drive Ryanair’s digital strategy on Europe’s largest travel website & industry leading app.

For more info on the open evening or to apply, visit https://careers.ryanair.com/.

Ryanair’s Chief Technology Officer, John Hurley, said:

“Ryanair may be best known for its low fares and unbeatable route network, but Ryanair Labs are at the heart of what we do as a business, driving digital innovation and cutting-edge projects to support our wider operations as we grow to carry 225 million passengers by 2026.

We are delighted to announce over 150 new tech job opportunities and look forward to meeting some of Ireland’s top tech talent at our open evening on Thurs, 1 Dec.

Ryanair is a proud Irish employer supporting over 26,000 jobs annually and we are delighted to launch this major recruitment drive to fill over 150 exciting tech jobs in Ireland.”