I see that icon of ‘not even the sky is the limit’, Ryanair, is finding gravity still exists. In a curious ‘threat’ to curtail growth, lively CEO O’Leary says it’s not as easy to pick up dirt-cheap aircraft as he did in 2002. He’s not quite so open about the company’s experience of opening hundreds of routes between city-pairs. I’ve tried reconciling their statements of routes opened, operated and closed, and it’s not easy – lots of hype about huge numbers of new routes being started, but curious shyness about how many close. 

It rather looks like the love-affair with flying everywhere for nothing – no matter the inconveniece involved – is fading, so both routes and service frequency might have to fall. The parallel with Starbucks over-expansion of stores is uncanny.