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Hitwise figures show impact of no-frills price war
Ryanair’s week-long flight sale pushed its website to the number one position among commercial airlines, according to the latest Hitwise figures.
Ryanair accounted for 15.81% share of UK Internet visits among commercial airline websites last week, knocking easyJet off the top spot with only 14.75%.
Ryanair’s share of visits increased by 20% from Wednesday May 16, the day the free-flight bonanza started, to the final day on Monday May 21.
easyJet’s response caused a 40% increase in daily visits to the website, putting it back in the number one spot yesterday.
Searches for “ryanair” also increased last week by 10% and Ryanair became the most searched for travel brand for the week ending May 19, a position normally held by easyJet.
“Ryanair kicked off the price war in response to soft demand for flights and the campaign has worked to drive traffic to Ryanair, but so far hasn’t boosted the Commercial Airlines category,” said Heather Hopkins, VP of research for Hitwise UK.
“The Commercial Airlines category saw its share of UK visits decline 4% last week, in spite of Ryanair’s strong gains. The promotion has fuelled demand for free flights, and for Ryanair’s promotion, but not for flights in general.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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