Ryanair adds over 50,000 seats for Rugby World Cup fans, but prices are still spiking

Extra flights have been added from Dublin and Cork ahead of the autumn Rugby World Cup

File photo: Ryanair

Pól Ó Conghaile

Ryanair says it has added over 51,000 extra seats across French routes ahead of the Rugby World Cup this autumn.

“We’ve had record bookings from rugby fans travelling for what is set to be a spectacular Rugby World Cup in France,” said Jade Kirwan, Ryanair’s Head of Communications.

Extra flights added include Dublin and Cork to and from Bordeaux around the Ireland v Romania fixture on September 9, Dublin to Nantes around the Tonga group fixture on September 16, and Dublin to Paris around the much-anticipated South African clash on September 23.

It is also adding extra flights from Dublin to Paris timed to coincide with Ireland’s final group game against Scotland on October 7, as well as the quarter-final weekend of October 13/14.

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The airline often adds capacity around large events such as Cheltenham. With fans travelling from all over Europe, however, there is still likely to be significant price pressure around big games – even with extra air capacity.

Ryanair flights from Dublin to Bordeaux start from €56.49 on the weekend of September 1-3, for example, but rise to as much as €341.90 the following weekend, when Ireland are scheduled to play Romania.

Flights from Dublin to Paris start from €51.99 on Friday, September 15, but from €309.46 the following Friday, ahead of Ireland’s match with South Africa.

“While we’re adding lots of additional capacity, we expect these seats to sell out fast and encourage all rugby fans to book their low-fare Ryanair seats now to avoid missing out,” Kirwan said.

NB: Sample flight prices correct as of April 21.