Ryanair has expressed disappointment with its recent business performance, prompting investor dissatisfaction as well. The Irish budget airline’s stock has dropped 17% following a quarterly earnings report that fell short of expectations. The company reported revenue of €3.6 billion ($4 billion), nearly identical to figures from the previous year, while profits plummeted to €336 million.
CEO Michael O’Leary noted that while passenger traffic grew by 10%, reaching 55 million, this growth has come at a significant price. He mentioned the necessity of stimulating fares and bookings repeatedly, with particularly poor performance observed in close-to-travel bookings leading into the peak months of July, August, and September.
In addition to softening demand, Ryanair is grappling with increased labor costs, alongside delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing, which has been a longstanding issue for O’Leary. Despite previous support for the manufacturer after a mid-flight incident involving a 737 Max 9, he has continuously urged Boeing to improve its operations.
O’Leary indicated that Ryanair’s customers seem to be facing more challenges now compared to the early economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. With inflation and slowed economic growth impacting consumers in the European Union, he suggested that operating fewer aircraft could end up benefiting the airline.
“We will have less capacity into summer 2025 than we originally scheduled with our Boeing delivery, and after that, we will see two years of essentially no capacity growth,” O’Leary stated. “If consumers face pressure over the next year or 18 months, that might not be the worst position for us to be in.”