THE airline's CEO sees a sharp increase in demand for vacations to Spanish and European holiday resorts.
Because of the renewed demand for beach holidays, Irish airline Ryanair has warned that summer airfares are expected to rise by a "high single-digit percent" this year, so sunbathers may need to start making travel plans early.
Within a week of reporting losses in the area of 355 million euros earlier in the week, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary also said reduced travel restrictions should assist the airline to come back to “reasonable profitability” this current financial year, but the increase of the Omicron variant, followed by that of the invasion of Ukraine, has seriously hampered rehabilitation.
Last month, Ryanair bragged that they had acquired a big amount of jet fuel in advance that would also help them keep costs low, but the firm now looks to be backpedalling on just that promise amid worries that Russia might further halt gasoline supplies in the coming days and weeks.
The CEO indicated that June prices are anticipated to remain below pre-pandemic levels, and after this time, “based on around 50 percent of all bookings,” prices are likely to increase.
“It appears to us that there will be greater costs throughout that peak summer season because there’s much more demand for the beaches of Europe, and those price hikes are going to continue,” Mr. O’Leary said.
"I anticipate cheap prices next winter. It is still too early to predict the future, but there will undoubtedly be a recession. In a downturn, the lowest-cost airline—Ryanair in the UK and Europe—will do better because we can maintain lower fares.
With this increase in reservations, Ryanair intends to surpass the 149 million record established before to Covid and carry 165 million passengers this year. The airline has also committed to be the one to spearhead the sector's revival in Spain.
Mr. O'Leary said that Ryanair was not experiencing any of the staffing issues that other airlines like British Airways, Jet2, EasyJet, and EasyJet have been dealing with. However, he expressed hope that the "pinch points" that have been causing significant delays in UK airports will be resolved before the summer travel season really gets going.
Without a doubt, he believed that it would be difficult to pass through airport security this summer, so he advised all of his clients to arrive early and give themselves extra time.
