LONDON – Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair has announced a brand new Winter route between Cardiff-Faro due to the success of the route in the Summer 2022 season.
It is understood that this route will operate on a twice-per-week basis, running on Wednesdays and Sundays, offering tourists the chance of some Winter holidays.
This Winter route will join the over 3,000 daily flights that will operate over the colder period across the carrier’s staggering network of 88 bases.
Delight Across The Board…
Commenting on this route announcement was Jason McGuiness, Ryanair’s Director of Commercial:
“Ryanair is delighted to announce a new Winter route and extend the service of the Cardiff to Faro route for W’22. Our Cardiff customers can now plan a Winter getaway to the Algarve and enjoy some of the best beaches Portugal has to offer.”
Also commenting on the announcement was Spencer Birns, the CEO of Cardiff Airport:
“It is fantastic news that Ryanair is extending its Faro flying program at Cardiff Airport into the winter season, providing an increased choice of holiday options for those people looking to escape later in the year.”
“Famous for its great weather, fantastic beaches, and delicious local food, Faro, and indeed Portugal, is an in-demand destination from Cardiff at any time of the year.”
“With its great combination of low fares, industry-leading operational reliability, and attractive flight times, we are pleased to see Ryanair growing further at Cardiff in the off-peak season after a busy summer with us.”
“In addition, we know that passengers using the new service will really appreciate the good customer service and uncrowded indoor terminal areas they experience at Cardiff Airport when going on their well-earned breaks.”
Beginning of Athens Replacements?
The Cardiff-Faro route is probably the first of many route announcements we will probably see from the Irish low-cost carrier, especially after cutting down 65% of its routes from Athens.
Ryanair announced it would close its Athens Int’l base and reduce its network out of the Greek capital during the 2022/23 winter season, citing what it called an “inexplicable failure” of the Greek government to reduce ” non-competitive” airport charges.
The Irish LCC is currently grounding two B737-800s out of Athens. As such, their move will reduce the carrier’s network from the Greek capital from 29 planned routes to only 10.
As of the first week of September, Ryanair is operating 70 weekly flights to 20 flights destinations out of Athens.
Overall…
It remains clear that Ryanair is definitely strategizing and putting its eggs in the more profitable baskets. The fact that the Cardiff-Faro route did well over the Summer gives indications that it will do well in the Winter.
Looking ahead, it’s going to be interesting to see what other routes they will announce in replacement of the cuts from Athens, as that will give an indicator of where the demand will be going into the Winter season.
Either way, Ryanair has definitely got a busy Winter ahead of them, especially if they will be operating over 3,000 flights per day in that period.
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