Ryanair is expanding in France, adding four new hubs by next year and aiming at doubling its French business to 20 million passengers a year. Which cities will host the new bases has not been announced yet.
The announcement comes after a troubled year for Ryanair, in which it canceled thousands of flights to to system and staffing issues, faced pilot strikes and union negotiations, and was forced to drop out of the bidding for bankrupt Alitalia. Nonetheless the airline continued to grow and make money. In one recent week, it broke a record by selling 3 million seats in one week.
Ryanair says the expansion will create around 1,000 new jobs, including 300 for pilots. Thirty planes will be assigned to the expanded routes. Among the sites under consideration are Nantes, Toulouse, Lyon, Marseille, and even Paris-Beauvais, where 80% of the traffic is already Ryanair flights.
At present, Ryanair has no bases in France, 87 elsewhere in Europe, It accounts for about 6% of France's air traffic, compared to 15% Europe-wide. Company officials say they expect to work with French unions, and that the decision is partly based on "a more favorable economic environment in France" under the new Macron government.
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