Ryanair’s boss says summer fares will go up to 10 per cent of 2019 levels
Ryanair’s summer fares are expected to go up between 5 and 10 per cent of 2019 levels, its boss Michael O’Leary said this morning.
The chief executive said lower capacity and very strong forward bookings have already started driving demand up from June onwards.
“What we’re seeing at the moment is prices are slightly lower than they were in 2019, pre-Covid, through March, April and May,” he told the Irish Independent. “They’re somewhere between 5 and 10 per cent higher at the moment through June, July, August and September.
“I think fares will be up this year in the peak summer months by between 5 and 10 per cent.”
O’Leary’s comments follow yesterday’s announcement that March passenger numbers for the first time topped pre-Covid levels, Morning Wire reported.
The carrier said that last month 11.2 million people had flown aboard its planes, compared to 0.5 million last year and 10.9 million in March 2019. Load factor was around 87 per cent, in line with O’Leary’s forecasts.
The 61-year-old said that while Covid is not entirely behind, Covid scares this summer are not likely to happen.
“We have been locked up at home for the last two years on Zoom calls. They want to go travel again. Families want to go on holidays again,” he told the Dublin outlet.
The carrier’s guidance for the year hit a turbulence yesterday when Ryanair warned shareholders losses would be between €350m and €400m, while previously guiding to a range between €250m and €400m.