QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: The Ryanair rollercoaster rides on - it is the largest operator in terms of capacity in six countries this summer, but can you name them all?

In our new weekly series to break up those Monday morning office blues, The Blue Swan Daily will be testing your knowledge and insight into the aviation and travel industry. This is all just for fun, but who knows? We may be able to find a prize somewhere around CAPA HQ. This week's question is detailed below. The answers will be revealed and winners (if there are any correct entries) announced next week alongside our next question.

The recent news that Ryanair had acquired a new start-up business in Malta grabbed significant media attention. Malta Air is already flying a couple of the airline's Boeing 737-800 across its network and will later this year become more visible when it takes over responsibility of the airline's six based aircraft flying from the Mediterranean island.

The deal is great for the LCC's cost structure, but with the Malta government holding a single golden share, some have suggested it could ultimately see the carrier take over from long-time financially troubled Air Malta as the nation's national airline.

Flag carriers used to hold significant status in countries, but now, as the industry has grown and as LCCs have proliferated in point-to-point regional markets, they have become less important beyond supporting hubs and to perhaps retain sovereign traffic rights. In many countries , Ryanair and other LCCs are now larger than the official flag carriers. That is already the case in Malta.

Our QUESTION OF THE WEEK is… Ryanair is the largest operator in terms of capacity in six countries this summer, but can you name them all?

JOIN IN THE FUN: Send your answers to: The Blue Swan Daily Content Team

We will be revealing the answers at the same time next week, when we will be setting another question.

Last week we asked…Which airports across the world will see the most A380 movements this month?

It is no real surprise that with Emirates Airline being by far the largest operator of the A380 that Dubai International airport sees the largest number of Super Jumbo movements. In Jun-2019 that was 4,943 flights, around one quarter (24.9%) of the total for the month. After, Dubai International the top ten list comprised: #2 - London Heathrow; #3 - Singapore Changi; #4 - Paris Charles De Gaulle; #5 - Frankfurt; #6 Seoul Incheon; #7 - New York John F Kennedy International; #8 - Sydney; #9 - Los Angeles International; and #10 - Bangkok Suvarnabhumi.