Ryanair is expressing disappointment over its recent business performance, which has led to a significant drop in its stock value, plummeting 17% after the release of a quarterly earnings report that fell below expectations. The Irish budget airline reported revenue of €3.6 billion ($4 billion), which remains comparable to last year’s figures. However, profits took a severe hit, nearly halving to €336 million. CEO Michael O’Leary noted that while passenger traffic is increasing—up 10% to 55 million—achieving this growth has come at a cost.
O’Leary mentioned during the earnings call that the airline is putting considerable effort into stimulating fares and bookings. Despite strong traffic growth, he revealed that demand has been disappointing, particularly as they approached the peak travel months of July, August, and September.
In addition to weaker demand, Ryanair has been grappling with rising labor costs and has criticized Boeing for ongoing delivery delays, an issue O’Leary has been vocal about for years. Though he remains supportive of the company’s aircraft, he continues to urge Boeing to improve its operations.
O’Leary also pointed out that Ryanair’s customers seem to be facing more financial strain than during the initial recovery phase following the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports indicate that ongoing inflation and stagnant economic growth in the European Union are starting to impact consumer behavior. In light of this, O’Leary suggested that reduced flight capacity may actually benefit Ryanair in the near future.
“We will have less capacity into summer 2025 than we originally scheduled due to Boeing’s delivery delays, followed by two years of essentially no capacity growth,” O’Leary stated. “If consumers are under financial pressure for the next year or 18 months, this might not be a bad situation for us.”