Ryanair slashes profit outlook as travel agents strike airline off websites
Ryanair saw profits fall sharply this morning and trimmed its full-year outlook after a number of online travel agents (OTAs) removed the carrier from their websites.
Post-tax profit for the three months to January shrunk to €15m (£12.8m), down from £180m the year prior.
Ryanair now expects profits of up to €1.95bn for the year ending in March, down from a previous forecast of up to €2.05bn.
The Irish budget airline was also impacted by a sharp rise in fuel costs, which jumped by over a third to €1.2bn.
Load factors, which measures the proportion of seats filled by airlines, fell to 92 per cent, down from 93 per cent year-on-year.
Ryanair has long scrapped with OTAs, which it has labelled “pirates” and accused of marking up fares for consumers. Airlines generally prefer when passengers book direct as they can offer a range of add-ons to flights, such as extra baggage space.
In December, a number of OTAs including Booking.com, Kiwi and Kayak removed the Dublin-based firm from their websites. In a statement, Ryanair warned the decision would likley hit earnings in the short term, while also hitting yields and load factors.
Ryanair has said that the decision by a number of online travel agents (OTAs) to remove the airline’s flights from their websites will hit earnings in the short term.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary said today: “While we will benefit from the first half of Easter traffic falling in late Mar. this is unlikely to fully offset the weaker than previously expected load factors and yields in late Q3 and early Q4.”
He also added a note of caution that the full year result was “heavily dependent upon avoiding unforeseen adverse events”, such as the Ukraine war and the conflict in Gaza.
A follow-up partnership with Kiwi.com was unveiled this afternoon, providing passengers with the same access as the airline tries to get a grip on the feud.