Chief executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has indicated that the airline will not be offering flights at rock bottom prices any longer due to the soaring cost of fuel.
He revealed that the era of the €10 ticket is over, as airline’s average fare would rise from around €40 (£33.75) last year to roughly €50 over the next five years.
“There’s no doubt that at the lower end of the marketplace, our really cheap promotional fares – the one euro fares, the €0.99 fares, even the €9.99 fares – I think you will not see those fares for the next number of years.”
Michael O’Leary
Despite the rise in fuel costs which is influencing the upward adjustment of fares, the airline boss expects customers to seek out lower-cost options rather than cut back on flights. He noted that the change in flight cost will not dissuade people from flying.
“We think people will continue to fly frequently. But I think people are going to become much more price sensitive and therefore my view of life is that people will trade down in their many millions.”
Michael O’Leary
As airfares have become cheaper in recent decades, the number of flights taken has risen, with more people taking short breaks abroad, on top of an annual holiday. Airlines like Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling and Wizz Air have competed to offer low-cost “no-frills” services.
Commercial flights now account for around 2.4% of global CO2 emissions, and the sector is facing pressure to reduce its impact on the climate, including campaigns to persuade people to switch to rail and road travel.
Commenting on this, Mr O’Leary argued that road transport and shipping were bigger contributors of CO2 overall and the focus on reducing emissions from air travel was “misplaced”. He highlighted that Ryanair was investing in more fuel efficient aircraft, but greater reductions in fossil fuel use would come from the switch from petrol and diesel to electric road vehicles.
Passengers eager to board flights
In the wake of the Covid pandemic, which severely disrupted international travel, people have proved eager to get back on board flights.
Nonetheless, as demand for air travel has bounced back, staff shortages at airlines and airports have led to delays and cancellations, in the UK and abroad. Some passengers have been forced to wait for hours, or reschedule travel at the last minute.
Mr O’Leary, reacting to this explained that Ryanair had managed the situation better than other airlines because it had been “part lucky and part brave” in its decision to start recruiting and training cabin crew and pilots last November when the Omicron variant was still affecting international travel.
In the first six months of 2022, Ryanair cancelled 0.3% of flights, compared with British Airways’ total of 3.5%, and Easyjet’s 2.8%, according to air travel consultancy OAG.
Mr O’Leary stated that he had “very little sympathy” for the airports because they knew schedules months in advance and that security staff, which are the responsibility of the airports, required less training than pilots. He further accused Heathrow, which has capped the number of passengers coming to the airport over the summer, of “mismanagement”.
In its defence, Heathrow stated that the cap was necessary to provide a reliable and safe service. The Airports Operators Association has said airports have been recruiting staff since late last year and most passengers are now travelling with no, or minimal, disruption.
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