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Budget airline Ryanair has reported an increase in passenger numbers for 2017, despite a scandal-hit year which saw it cancel thousands of flights.
The Irish airline said its annual traffic grew 10 per cent in 2017 to 129 million customers.
Traffic climbed 3 per cent year-on-year in December to 9.3 million, matching the previous month’s figure.
Meanwhile, its load factor – which gauges how efficiently the airline is filling its seats – rose one percentage point year-on-year to 94 per cent.
Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs attributed the growth to lower air fares.
Ryanair was forced to cancel 20,000 flights from autumn onwards due to a shortage of pilots and a problem with the holiday rota.
The latest traffic figures come a day after the airline said it was applying for a British operating licence to keep flying from the UK in the event of a hard Brexit .
Business news: In picturesShow all 13 1 /13Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business.
AFP via Getty
Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola
Paramount
Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share"
Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers
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Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint
NatWest/PA Wire
Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019
Mahabis
Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant
PA
Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30
PA
Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks
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Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks
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Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold
AFP/Getty
Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process.
Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.
Other airlines have made similar moves to make sure their operations can continue seamlessly after March 2019.
Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air, which operates flights across Central and Eastern Europe, announced it was establishing a British operation in October.
UK-based easyJet has also established a division in Vienna to allow it to keep flying across the EU.
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