Enlarge image
Ryanair benefits from increased ticket prices
Photo: Paul Hanna / REUTERS
Rising ticket prices have given low-cost airline Ryanair a record profit at the end of the year.
Now the company apparently wants to stick to this strategy: According to management, passengers should expect higher prices, especially at Easter and in summer.
Ryanair
had earned more in the past quarter than ever before and registered increased demand despite inflation.
"We had record bookings in the second and third weeks of January, very robust demand into Easter and the summer," said CFO Neil Sorahan.
There is no sign of recession in bookings.
The airline is benefiting from the return of Asian tourists and the strong dollar that is attracting Americans to Europe, added Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary.
In the seasonally weak period from October to December, the airline earned 211 million euros - around twice as much as in the previous record Christmas quarter of 2017. Ticket prices were said to be 14 percent higher than the pre-crisis level.
Higher prices around Easter and in summer
The premium over last year could be in the mid to high single digits around Easter and summer, O'Leary said.
The capacities offered in Europe are still scarce.
Some airlines deliberately limited them in order to charge higher ticket prices.
For the full financial year, the European airline, which is the leading European airline in terms of passenger numbers, is targeting 168 million customers – well above the pre-crisis record of 149 million.
The board of directors confirmed its recently raised forecast of a net profit of 1.325 to 1.425 billion euros for the financial year ending in March.
The British competitor
Easyjet
was still in the red in the past quarter, but also expects a profit before taxes for its entire financial year up to the end of September 2023.
crises in the competition
However, things are getting tight for some airlines at the moment, including the Norwegian low -cost airline
Flyr
.
The company spoke of a serious financial situation after another round of financing failed.
The board is still looking for alternatives to maintain operations, it said.
Meanwhile, the share price on the Oslo stock exchange fell by more than 75 percent to 0.002 Norwegian kroner, i.e. practically zero.
Flyr only started in the summer of 2021, in the middle of the corona pandemic.
With sales equivalent to 93 million euros, the airline made a net loss of about the same amount from January to September 2022.
The airline's website informs travelers that all flights will operate as scheduled on Monday.
All further connections will be informed as soon as possible.
At the weekend, the British regional airline
Flybe
had to shut down operations for the second time in three years.
All flights have been cancelled.
Around 75,000 passengers were affected.
The airline was again put under creditor protection for a restructuring procedure.
The receiver, Interpath Advisory, said delayed aircraft deliveries had hampered competitiveness.
zob/dpa/Reuters
