Behold, the return of our SkyEurope/Ryanair statistical face-off.

In October 2007, Ryanair carried 21 percent more passengers than they did in October 2006, and managed a modest increase in load factor—the number of seats filled on planes flying throughout the month—of 2 percent (from 83 percent to 85 percent) also against October 2006 numbers.

SkyEurope, by way of contrast, enjoyed an impressive 34.4 percent hike in passenger numbers in October 2007 against October 2006. Despite this, the airline’s load factor in October 2007 was .5 percent (75.3 percent to 74.8 percent) in comparison with October 2006 stats.

Against this backdrop, Ryanair launches eight new routes from Shannon today, and seven from Bristol—with another five more inaugurations to follow by the end of the week. SkyEurope, still consolidating after its base contraction, has announced plans to sell two Boeing 737s. Thanks to AirScoop for alerting us to the sale.

Popularity: 3% [?]