Ryanair has expressed dissatisfaction with its recent business performance, leading to disappointment among investors as well. The stock of the Irish budget airline has dropped by 17% following a quarterly earnings report that fell short of expectations. The airline reported revenues of €3.6 billion ($4 billion), unchanged from the previous year, while profits nearly halved to €336 million. CEO Michael O’Leary mentioned that, while the airline is attracting more passengers, it faces challenges in maintaining this momentum.
Despite a 10% increase in traffic, bringing the number of passengers to 55 million, O’Leary emphasized that this growth comes at a cost. The airline has had to continually adjust fares and bookings, with recent performance in these areas proving disappointing, especially as they head into the peak summer months.
In addition to lower demand, Ryanair is also confronting increased labor costs and has attributed part of its challenges to delays in Boeing aircraft deliveries, a longstanding issue for O’Leary. While he has supported the company following a mid-flight incident involving a 737 Max 9, he has consistently urged Boeing to improve its operations.
O’Leary noted that passengers seem to be feeling more economic pressure compared to the early recovery period following COVID-19, with prolonged inflation and sluggish growth in the European Union taking a toll. He suggested that a reduction in the number of aircraft could ultimately benefit Ryanair.
“We will have less capacity in summer 2025 than originally planned due to the Boeing deliveries, leading to two years of minimal capacity growth,” O’Leary stated. “If consumers continue to face pressure over the next year to 18 months, perhaps this situation may not be detrimental for us.”