Ryanair profit more than doubles as fares jump
Quarterly profit at Ryanair has more than doubled after the Irish airline benefitted from higher air fares and a later Easter.
Profit after tax rose 128 per cent to €820m (£710m) over the three months ended June, alongside a 21 per cent increase in ticket prices.
Revenue rose by a fifth to €4.34bn as the low-cost carrier reported a four per cent increase in passenger numbers to 57.9m, at a load factor of 94 per cent.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary said quarterly air fares had “substantially benefitted” from having a full Easter holiday in April, alongside a weaker prior year comparison.
Ryanair forecast a summer fare hike in May after a year in which lower fares caused a 16 per cent drop in profit.
O’Leary said it was too early to provide meaningful annual profit guidance amid highly variable external factors, including conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, the risk of tariff wars and European air traffic control “mismanagement.”
The airline earlier this month called on the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, to step down after industrial action by French air traffic controllers caused hundreds of flight cancellations.
Ryanair hits out at Boeing delivery delays
Ryanair on Monday pinned full-year passenger growth of just three per cent on “heavily delayed” Boeing deliveries. It took in five new Boeing 737 Gamechangers over the quarter, bringing its total fleet to 618.
“This summer we will operate over 2,600 routes, including 160 new routes, and we’re seeing strong summer travel demand across our network,” O’Leary said.
“Our group airlines capacity constrained growth is being allocated to those regions and airports who are cutting aviation taxes and incentivising traffic growth, and we expect this trend to continue.”
Competitive fuel hedging will provide a “key advantage” amid volatile oil markets, the airline added, with the 2026 financial year nearly 85 per cent hedged at $76bbl.