His assessment of Ryanair‘s possible entry into the package holiday market was expressed by its CEO, Michael O’Leary, arguing that this is possible if the aggressive development phase of the group’s transport business is completed.
Mr O’Leary did not rule out the possibility, having said: “Something like this can only come about when our focus is not on aggressively increasing passenger numbers year on year.”
Speaking on the occasion of the announcement of financial results for the year to March, when the airline posted a profit of €1.6 billion, Mr O’Leary hailed the success of Ryanair’s partnerships with a host of online travel agents (OTAs) from early 2024, including Loveholidays, On the Beach and TUI.
He said: “We are very pleased with our agreements with OTAs, as are the OTAs. We are perfectly happy to allow them to have commercial management of the holidays. I don’t want to waste time running around the Canary Islands trying to buy hotel rooms. I leave the hard work to them.”
Of course, he clarified that he was not criticising easyJet Holidays or Jet2holidays, but reiterated that Ryanair will start to be really interested in the holiday market when it stops its aggressive growth.
He added: “If there are markets that OTAs want to enter and work with us, we are happy with that.”
Indeed, but the demand
Mr O’Leary said “strong travel demand across Ryanair’s network” this summer, with prices in the high, summer season tending to be slightly higher, compared to the same period in 2024.
Nevertheless, Ryanair forecasts that its passenger traffic for the current financial year to March 2026 will grow by just 3% to 206 million passengers, with the reduction in passenger numbers attributed to a delay in aircraft deliveries from Boeing.
Despite a 9% increase in the number of passengers, which reached 200 million – a record number – net profits fell from €1.92 billion the previous year, due to a 7% fall in average fares.
Ryanair’s revenue rose 4% to €13.95 billion, with revenue from additional services up 10% overall and 1% per passenger, despite lower fares.
Top market is the Italian market
Italy emerged as Ryanair’s largest market in terms of revenue for the year, generating almost €3 billion for the airline, followed by Spain with €2.8 billion and the UK with €2 billion.
Mr O’Leary noted that Ryanair added 160 new routes to its schedule this summer, and highlighted that capacity on European short-haul flights will remain constrained for the next few years due to delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing and Airbus and technical problems with Pratt & Whitney engines. He noted that the consolidation of airlines in Europe will continue.
