Ryanair is expressing dissatisfaction with its business performance, which has led to disappointment among investors. The Irish budget airline’s stock has fallen by 17% following the release of a quarterly earnings report that fell short of expectations. The company’s revenue remained stable at €3.6 billion ($4 billion), roughly the same as the previous year, but profits plunged nearly 50% to €336 million. CEO Michael O’Leary mentioned that while more passengers are choosing to fly with Ryanair, it is becoming increasingly challenging to attract them.
While traffic growth reached 10%, totaling 55 million passengers, O’Leary noted that this increase comes at a cost. He indicated that there is a need to stimulate fares and bookings repeatedly, particularly as last-minute bookings have been disappointing, especially leading into the peak travel months of July, August, and September.
In addition to facing declining demand, Ryanair is contending with rising labor costs and has pointed fingers at Boeing for its ongoing delivery delays, a longstanding issue for O’Leary. Despite supporting the airline manufacturer after a mid-flight incident involving a 737 Max 9, he has urged Boeing to improve its operations.
O’Leary also indicated that Ryanair’s customers seem to be feeling the effects of inflation and slow economic growth within the European Union more acutely than they did during the early stages of the COVID-19 economic recovery. As a result, he suggested that operating with fewer aircraft could potentially benefit the airline moving forward.
“We will have less capacity into summer 2025 than we were originally scheduled to have due to our Boeing deliveries, leading to two years of virtually no capacity growth,” O’Leary explained. “If consumers face pressure over the next year or 18 months, it may not be the worst situation for us.”