Ryanair posts record profits and says fares could be cut

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By Lisa James
20/05/2024
Home » Ryanair posts record profits and says fares could be cut

Flight prices this summer will be about the same as last year, and could go down in 2025, Ryanair has said.

The forecast came as the airline reported record annual profits of €1.9 billion (£1.6bn) for the year ending 31 March 2024.

The increase in profit is up by more than a third on the previous year and passenger numbers rose by 9% to 184 million, up 23% on pre-COVID numbers in 2019.

The airline said prices this summer will be ‘flat to modestly ahead of last summer’, but that ‘recent pricing is softer than we expected’. Previously, Ryanair had previously forecast fares would rise by up to 10% for summer 2024.

The FT reports Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said if the company has to cut fares to have planes 94% full next April, May and June next year, ‘then so be it’.

“It is a little bit surprising that pricing hasn’t been stronger, and we are not quite sure whether that is just consumer sentiment, or recessionary feel around Europe,” he said.

“We still see peak travel demand, certainly through July and August, being strong and if we have to discount… in April, May and June then so be it.”

The airline has appointed former Conservative Home Secretary Amber Rudd as a Non-Executive Director, effective 1 July.

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