Ryanair’s profit tumbles as average summer airfares fall

European budget airline Ryanair has seen its half-year profit tumble by 18 per cent year-on-year to €1.79 billion due to lower airfares during the peak summer season.

The Ireland-based carrier saw its average fare fall by 7 per cent year-on-year to €61 during the quarter between July and September. This followed a 15 per cent fall in fares in the quarter between April and June, which was partially impacted by the earlier Easter holidays this year.

Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary said there had been “more price stimulation than originally expected” this summer, due to pressures on consumer spending and a drop in bookings from online travel agencies.

Despite the reduction in average fares, Ryanair increased revenue by 3 per cent to €5.1 billion in the July-September quarter, with passenger numbers climbing by 9 per cent year-on-year to 59.8 million.

For the half-year period from April to September, revenue was up by 1 per cent to €8.7 billion as passenger levels reached 115.3 million, a 9 per cent rise on the same period in 2023.

O’Leary said forward bookings for the current October-December quarter were “strong” and the decline in fares “appears to be moderating”. Although average fares are still expected to be “modestly lower” than for the same quarter last year.

The company has also trimmed its passenger growth forecasts because of continued delays in receiving new aircraft from Boeing, where manufacturing has been hit by an employee strike.

Ryanair said it expected to carry between 198 million and 200 million passengers during the current financial year, which runs until the end of March 2025, “subject to no worsening of current Boeing delivery delays”. The target of reaching 215 million passengers in the 2025-26 financial year has also been cut to 210 million.

The airline is increasingly looking to target business travellers by agreeing distribution deals with companies such as Amadeus, SAP Concur, Kyte and Travelfusion.

Although Ryanair’s controversial online booking verification process, which requires facial recognition, is now the subject of an inquiry by Ireland’s data regulator.