- Quote: ‘Ticket prices should return to pre-Covid levels – if not better – by summer 2022’
By Andrew Atkinson
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary says Spain rolling out Covid-19 recovery incentive schemes will help aid improvements amid the coronovirus that hit the airline industry hard during the pandemic.
“We expect to see further improvements in costs as our new, lower-cost, more fuel-efficient aircraft deliver and EU countries – such as Ireland, Spain and Italy – roll out Covid recovery incentive schemes,” said O’Leary.
Ryanair expects to return to profitability in the year ending March 2023: “While sectors and traffic more than doubled, operating costs increased by just 63% to €2.2 billion (£1.86 billion), driven primarily by lower variable costs such as aircraft, airport and handling, route charges and fuel,” said O’Leary.
“Lower costs, coupled with rising load factors, led to a marked reduction in cost per passenger (ex-fuel) to €38(£32),” he said.
Ryanair has seen a surge in bookings for the mid-term and Christmas breaks, as reported by The Leader.
O’Leary predicts next year will still be challenging: “It’s dependent on the continued rollout of vaccines and no adverse Covid-19 developments,” added O’Leary.
“Keeping prices low and passenger numbers high over the winter will set us up strongly for a very strong recovery,” he said.
Ryanair confirmed the number of passengers flying with the airline in the six months to the end of September more than doubled, compared with a year earlier.
39.1 million passengers flew during the period, compared with 17.1 million previously.
“Ticket prices should return to pre-Covid levels – if not better – by summer 2022,” said O’Leary.
Caption: Michael O’Leary says Spain rolling out Covid-19 recovery incentive schemes will help aid improvements.
