Ryanair posted a record profit last quarter and is expected to continue to make a lot of profit this year and next. The budget airline foresees that the increasing demand for air travel also offers room to increase ticket prices further.
“Based on current booking profiles, we believe rates will increase over Easter and into the summer,” said Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan.
The profit after tax amounted to 211 million euros last quarter. This is Ryanair’s best-ever result in the holiday quarter. A year earlier, there was still a loss of 96 million euros. Turnover increased by 57 percent to 2.3 billion euros. The recently increased profit expectation for the entire financial year remains unchanged at more than 1.3 billion euros to more than 1.4 billion euros.
The aviation sector is recovering after the corona pandemic, and relatively low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair and easyJet, particularly, are benefiting from the price-conscious consumer chasing deals due to high inflation. For example, Ryanair claims to have gained market share in Spain and Scandinavia, among others. Ryanair is also expanding capacity for the summer period to meet strong demand.
CEO Michael O’Leary stated that Ryanair has recently achieved record sales for spring and summer travel tickets. In the British market, there is a great demand for air travel to sunny destinations such as Spain and Portugal, according to the CEO.
The Irish airline will also hire 200 additional cabin workers domestically to meet the strong demand for air travel in the coming summer. According to Ryanair, the number of passengers will reach 168 million in the current financial year and rise to 225 million in 2026.