Budget airline Ryanair has said that it is not changing its profit expectations for the full-year despite reporting a 35 million euro (£28.8 million) loss for the third quarter.

The loss, which Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary blamed on lower fares and promotional activity, contrasted a rise in passenger numbers of 6% to 18 million passengers.

The airline recently announced a series of initiatives to improve its customer service, including a website which is easier to use, a free small, second carry-on bag, "quiet flights", a 24 hour "grace period" to correct minor booking errors, "significantly" reduced boarding card and airport bag fees, and a new service to cater for group and business travel across our extensive network.

Mr O'Leary, said: "We responded to this weaker pricing environment last September with seat promotions and lower fares which stimulated traffic across all markets resulting in 6% growth in Q3, and a 1% rise in monthly load factors.

"Ancillary revenues grew by 13%, significantly faster than traffic growth due to strong customer uptake of reserved seating, priority boarding, and higher credit card fees. Excluding fuel, Q3 sector length adjusted unit costs fell 9% as Ryanair continues to deliver industry leading cost control.”