Ryanair's 90:10 route rule

Ryanair is always announcing new routes, but have you ever pondered how many make the grade?

Here are some interesting comments made by Ryanair deputy chief executive Michael Cawley at a media briefing yesterday which I thought I'd share.

"We will close 10% of the routes we open within a year. If we don't, we are failing," says Cawley.

He explains that most of Ryanair's routes have never been served before and they have no competition.

"We don't know which ones are going to work, but do know 10% won't so we close them and move on. We'll even give away seats for free, so it's not the fare. It's simply a question of whether the demand is there or not."

Cawley claims it costs nothing to close a route which doesn't work because Ryanair uses airport staff to handle its flights, rather than basing its own people overseas.