Majority of European airlines to vanish according to Ryanair

Irish low cost carrier Ryanair’s deputy chief executive, Howard Millar, predicted that only five commercial airlines are financially viable enough to survive the current economic slump and that all other companies will likely go bankrupt or otherwise disappear in the near future. Two of the five airlines that Millar believes will survive are based in the United Kingdom, namely British Airways and easyJet. The other more fortunate airlines include Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and, as one could expect, Ryanair.

Millar also predicted that while some of the other carriers may go bankrupt, the rest would be absorbed by their larger rivals. Ryanair’s prediction may indeed come to pass, considering that Lufthansa is expected to buy Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines this year, while British Airways will merge with Iberia. Alitalia, as we have written about on numerous occasions, will seek to attract a foreign investor as well, and Air France-KLM is the most likely candidate.

Ryanair’s deputy chief executive suggested that the restructuring of the airline industry may prove detrimental to passengers, who will find themselves faced with fewer flights. Additionally, widespread job losses within the industry are expected, as airlines try to save costs by downsizing. The old piece of good news, however, is that customers are much more inclined to look for budget airfares and as such, carriers will have little choice but to keep prices reasonable if they wish to fill the seats on airplanes.

Thank you to the London Times for the initial report.