Ryanair has boosted its schedule to France around the Rugby World Cup this autumn. The airline will add over 50,000 seats ahead of an anticipated surge in demand in September and October.
Ryanair adds Rugby World Cup flights
The Irish low-cost carrier has added over 51,000 seats across multiple French routes ahead of the Rugby World Cup, a tournament held every four years and hosted in France this time. The airline noted that record bookings had forced it to bolster capacity during the tournament, which organizers estimate will attract around 600,000 international visitors over the 51 days of the event.
Jade Kirwan, Head of Communications at Ryanair, commented,
"We’ve had record bookings from Rugby fans traveling for what is set to be a spectacular Rugby World Cup in France. To fulfil this overwhelming demand, we have added over 51,000 seats across multiple France routes from both Ireland and the UK, including Dublin – Bordeaux, Dublin – Nantes, and Dublin – Paris, Edinburgh – Paris, London Stansted – Marseille, and Manchester – Marseille, among many others."
Among its biggest increases for the tournament - which takes place across multiple cities in France from September 8th to October 28th - are seven extra flights to/from Marseille for the England-Argentina game on September 9th, and eight more flights to/from Paris for Ireland vs Scotland on October 7th.
Several routes benefit
Ryanair often bolsters capacity on routes due to sporting events, particularly during tournaments and knock-out stage games when ticket demand skyrockets.
The added frequencies and corresponding fixtures are as follows:
|
Ireland vs Romania (Sept 9th) |
Dublin – Bordeaux (Sept 7th, 8th, 9th) Bordeaux – Dublin (Sept 10th, 11th) Bordeaux – Cork (Sept 10th) |
|
England vs Argentina (Sept 9th) |
London Stansted – Marseille (Sept 7th, 8th, 9th) Manchester – Marseille (Sept 8th) Marseille - London Stansted (Sept 10th, 11th) Marseille – Manchester (Sept 10th) |
|
Scotland vs South Africa (Sept 10th) |
Edinburgh – Marseille (Sept 9th) Marseille – Edinburgh (Sept 11th) |
|
Ireland vs Tonga (Sept 16th) |
Dublin – Nantes (Sept 15th, 16th) Nantes – Dublin (Sept 17th, 18th) |
|
England vs Japan (Sept 17th) |
London Stansted – Nice (Sept 16th) Nice – London Stansted (Sept 18th) |
|
Ireland vs South Africa (Sept 23rd) |
Dublin – Paris (Sept 22nd, 23rd) Paris – Dublin (Sept 24th, 25th) |
|
Ireland vs Scotland (Oct 7th |
Dublin – Paris (Oct 6th, 7th) Edinburgh – Paris (Oct 6th, 7th) Paris – Dublin (Oct 8th, 9th) Paris – Edinburgh (Oct 8th, 9th) |
|
Paris Quarterfinals (Oct 14th/15th) |
Dublin – Paris (Oct 13th, 14th) Paris – Dublin (Oct 16th) |
|
Marseille Quarterfinals (Oct 14th/15th) |
London Stansted – Marseille (Oct 13th, 14th) Manchester – Marseille (Oct 13th) Marseille – London Stansted (Oct 16th) |
The airline adds that it expects seats on these additional routes to sell out fast, so if you plan on booking, it is advisable to do so quickly. Should any of the Home Nations make it to the Semi-Finals and Finals - all of which are to be hosted in Paris - the airline will, in all likelihood, add frequencies on applicable routes.
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Will the schedule hold up?
As Simple Flying reported last week, Ryanair is keeping a close eye on the situation over at Boeing after the planemaker revealed its 737 MAX delivery schedule is likely to take a hit following the discovery of a production problem.
The Irish LCC had expected 24 MAX deliveries within the next three months, but this is unlikely to happen given the issue with tail fittings affecting hundreds of aircraft built since 2019. While Boeing has played down the issue, Bank of America analysts believe fixes on already-built and in-service aircraft could be costly - anywhere from $70,000 to $1,000,000 per plane - and require Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearance.
Do you have any flights booked with Ryanair for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France? Have you ever flown with the airline to a sporting event? Let us know your stories in the comments.
Source: MarketWatch