Ryanair's traffic fell 8% in November, but the airline said it had expected passenger numbers to be 10% down compared with the same month last year.
Head of communications Stephen McNamara said traffic for winter 2011/2012 would be down 4% overall following the airline's decision to park 80 aircraft due to higher fuel prices.
The airline's load factors for November remained unchanged at 80%.
British Airways' parent IAG saw its passenger numbers rise 2.1% in November and its premium traffic was up 4.6% compared to the previous year.
By Linsey McNeill
