Passenger numbers?

[Humanahum]

This is a strange and slightly embarrasing question! I have always taken the number of passengers an airline carries a year the one they give out in press releases etc as the TOTAL. My partner, last night, asked me. "If Ryanair carried 90 million passengers does that mean each way?" I have to confess I didn't know. Do they count a passenger as 1 if they make a return flight or is that considered 2 passengers? I run a Dan Air website and that made me think did Dan Air carry roughly 6 million or 3 million!!
Very puzzling now - so answers are welcome!
Chug

[HXdave]

whilst i stand to be corrected, i would imagine 1 passenger to be equal to a single flight leg.

therefore, manchester to london one way would be 1 pax counted, where as manchester - london - newyork return would count as 4 pax.
that is only my opinion, and i could be wrong.

[befree]

Ryanair count any seat that has been booked each way as a passenger carried even if they could not possibly travel. When people book a very long ahead they book many sectors they end up not taking. As the admin charges are so high to change things people just book another seat and let the old booking stand. I guess if they cancil a flight and you do not ask for a refund of 5 euros then the FR system counts you as well.

I guess Ryanair has quite a lot of no-shows and that the pax carried is over by around 2-5%.

The no shows should not show on the CAA figures that are about real pax at the airport. These do however show up people who are flying for free. In the startup days of Silverjet a good dozen people on each flight were going on a freebe!

[Charlie Roy]

Every year I account for approximately 20 Ryanair passengers.

[racedo]

Every year I account for approximately 20 Ryanair passengers.

Ah Charlie wouldn't say you were that overweight

Oh you didn't mean per flight.

[The SSK]

The figures actually measure 'boardings' or in the US 'emplanements'. ie a return journey counts 2.

Journeys involving intermediate stops normally count as 1 if they are conducted on a single flight number/flight coupon (in the days of paper tickets) even though there may be a change of aircraft involved.

Finally, with some exceptions (eg Ryanair), airlines normally count only 'revenue passengers', which excludes free tickets (although it does include, for example, seats bought with air miles, BOGOF promotions or vouchers given as compensation), airline staff and infants.

[racedo]

Finally, with some exceptions (eg Ryanair), airlines normally count only 'revenue passengers', which excludes free tickets (although it does include, for example, seats bought with air miles, BOGOF promotions or vouchers given as compensation), airline staff and infants.

As all tickets are sold as revenue passengers then how could FR be different ?

Don't ever notice BA or others accounting for no show passenegers with unchangeable flights differently.

[pottwiddler]

So that is why Ryanair say they are the "world's favourite airline" because people might be going to Dublin (insert your destination here) in three months time, change their mind and fly elsewhere.

So Ryanair are really the "World favourite 'no show' airline"!

[The SSK]

BA and other, shall we say 'conventional' carriers don't count noshows as revenue pax, even if they keep the money. However the money does go into the passenger revenue total, causing yields to be very slightly overstated.

[racedo]

BA and other, shall we say 'conventional' carriers

Its ok there is no shame in saying Loss making carriers instead of Conventional

However the money does go into the passenger revenue total, causing yields to be very slightly overstated.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah funny how they keep quiet about that.

[The SSK]

racedo: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah funny how they keep quiet about that.

What's your problem? It's got to be accounted for somehow. Yields are nothing more than a mathematical expression of revenue divided by RPK. If a passenger cashes in his miles and flies for free, your yield will go down by an imperceptibly small amount. If someone buys a non-refundable ticket and no-shows, your yield will go up by an imperceptibly small amount. Big deal.