Ryanair multiplied its profits this summer, earning almost £25 per passenger. The largest low-cost airline in Europe made a post-tax profit of 1.72 billion euros in the second quarter of its fiscal year, which covers the months of July, August, and September.
During these months, Ryanair carried 61.2 million passengers, which corresponds to an average of €28.11 per passenger.
The occupancy rate increased by 1% to 96%, meaning that there were only seven or eight empty seats on average per flight. Mean prices for one-way tickets increased by 6.5% to 65 euros.
In statements, Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary said, “We expect the capacity of European short-haul flights to remain limited at least until 2030, as the two major aircraft manufacturers [Airbus and Boeing] continue to lag behind in aircraft production.”
In other words, the supply of seats is lower than the market would expect, resulting in higher fares.
He also mentioned the repairs of the Pratt & Whitney engines on the Airbus A320 series aircraft as a limiting factor.
The Ryanair chief added: “This winter, we allocated the limited capacity of Ryanair to areas and airports that reduce air taxes and encourage increased traffic, such as Sweden, Slovakia, Italy, Albania, and Morocco, by transferring flights and routes from markets with high costs and non-competitive, such as Germany, Austria, and the Spanish region.”
“We believe that capacity constraints in the industry, combined with increasing cost advantage, strong balance sheet, low-cost aircraft order book, and the resilience of our operations, will facilitate the controlled profitable growth of Ryanair to 300 million passengers per year by the 2034 financial year,” Mr. O’Leary added.
He also criticized the European Parliament’s plans to require airlines to allow all passengers to carry a wheeled suitcase and a smaller personal item in the cabin.
He said: “The European Parliament is proposing even more idiotic rules, such as further increasing the limits for free carry-on luggage, even though there is no space in the aircraft cabin for these additional bags, which will only lead to increased security measures at airports and flight delays, as well as higher costs and increased fares for European consumers.”
However, MEPs believe that carrying two hand luggage in the aircraft cabin is a “fundamental right to avoid unjustified additional costs.”
