Ryanair is expanding its summer schedule from the UK to Italy. The low-cost giant will operate flights from Birmingham and Glasgow to Pisa Airport, offering tourists more services to the popular city in Tuscany. Ryanair has been building up its resources in the UK in the last year after it resumed domestic services and expanded to offer its largest-ever schedule out of several airports.

Two new routes

According to The Herald Scotland, Ryanair is adding some finishing touches to its record summer schedule. The Dublin-based budget airline will kick off its new route from Birmingham Airport (BHX) to Pisa (PSA) on June 4th, operating twice weekly. Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) to Pisa will commence on March 30th, also flying two times a week.

The two new routes will operate on the following schedule:

• FR498 - Departs BHX at 08:05 and lands in PSA at 11:25 (commences June 4th) - Wednesdays and Sundays
• FR499 - Departs PSA at 11:55 and lands in BHX at 13:20 - Wednesdays and Sundays
• FR3417 (operated by Malta Air) - Departs PIK at 08:15 and arrives in PSA at 12:00 (commences March 30th) - Thursdays and Sundays
• FR3418 - Depats PSA at 06:20 and lands in PIK at 08:10 - Thursdays and Sundays

Doubling down on the UK

After a strong summer last year, Ryanair will be hoping to return to its pre-pandemic growth trajectory. The UK is a pivotal part of that strategy, and things are looking up. The carrier returned to mainland UK routes last May and is now planning to return to several of its previous airports, including Bournemouth, Cornwall, and more.

One airport that has received particular attention is Edinburgh (EDI). The Scottish capital has 11 aircraft at the base, bringing a 25% capacity boost and total routes to 69 for this summer. EDI has seen a jump in domestic routes thanks to the UK government's decision to cut its air passenger duty (APD) by 50% for such flights, a sticking point for Ryanair in the past. Cities like Rhodes and Venice are the others that have recently been added as well.

More planes

Ryanair is broken up into several subsidiaries, including Ryanair UK, Malta Air, Buzz, Lauda Europe, and the eponymous one itself. Together, the budget airline operates 521 aircraft currently, with another 116 737 MAXs scheduled for delivery, per ch-aviation.

However, the carrier has been in negotiations with Boeing since 2019 for another bumped order, which could include the MAX 10 or more MAX 8-200s (the high-density configuration first made for the carrier). This week, we found out that Ryanair is back on the negotiating table for the first time since 2021, hoping to secure a reasonable deal with Boeing to fuel the next stage of its growth.