In July 2025, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby called Ryanair ‘the only remaining successful LCC around the globe’. In 2024-25, the low-cost airline carried 200 million passengers for the first time, proof of its enduring popularity and strong growth plan.
At World Aviation Festival 2025, Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson sat down with John Strickland, Director at JLS Consulting, to discuss the latest developments in airline strategy. From a much-publicised spat with Spain over rising airport fees to the upcoming switch to mobile-only boarding passes, it’s been a busy year at Ryanair’s Dublin HQ.
Looking to the future, Wilson is especially excited about the delivery of new Boeing 737 MAX 10s, the first in Ryanair’s fleet and due for delivery in 2027. This larger aircraft will enable the airline to add more seats and drive further sales.
MAX 8s were a game changing, going from 189 seats to 197, and with the MAX 10 we’ll have 227. The aircraft will also burn less fuel and make less noise.
Kirby’s reason for calling Ryanair the only remaining successful LCC was because the carrier has stuck firmly to its strategy of serving low-cost airports such as London Stansted and Milan Bergamo. However, a dispute with Spanish airport operator Aena over a 6.62% increase in airport charges has led to Ryanair cutting 1.2 million seats to the Iberian country in its winter timetable.
Wilson believes that the increased airport charges will negatively impact Spain’s regional and often underserved airports, the ones that Ryanair might look to connect.
Aena don’t recognise that the world has changed for short-haul. While they’re focused on long-haul, they’ve got empty regional airports. That’s the long and short of it.
Another much-talked about development is the introduction of mobile-only boarding passes across most Ryanair flights, effective from 12 November 2025. Despite the media uproar, Wilson is confident that the switch will ultimately improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.
We save money and [reduce] environmental impact, but we’re also going to be much better able to mange disruption at the gate. People who travel with Ryanair can see all the information through the app.
🎥 Watch the interview to get the full conversation between Eddie Wilson and John Strickland.
Questions asked include:
- What have your results looked like for the past few months?
- How is delivery of new Boeing 737 MAX 8s and MAX 10s going?
- What’s your perspective on the dispute with Aena?
- What about the potential capacity cap on Dublin Airport? How will that impact operations?
- You’re going paperless on 12 November. What does this mean for customers?
Join us at World Aviation Festival 2026 to discuss the future of low-cost travel in aviation.
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