Ryanair won’t be offering flights at rock bottom prices any more thanks to the soaring cost of fuel, the budget airline’s boss has admitted in an interview with the British media BBC.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary says the era of the EUR 10 ticket is over.
The airline’s average fare would rise from around EUR 40 (GBP 33.75) last year to roughly EUR 50 over the next five years, he told the BBC.
But he says he believes people will continue to fly frequently, despite the rising cost of living.
Mr O’Leary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
«There’s no doubt that at the lower end of the marketplace, our really cheap promotional fares – the one euro fares, the EUR 0.99 fares, even the EUR 9.99 fares – I think you will not see those fares for the next number of years.»
The rise in fuel costs that is pushing up air fares, is also raising household energy bills, eating into people’s disposable incomes. But the airline boss said, despite that, he expects customers to seek out lower–cost options rather than cut back on flights.
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.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, which seriously disrupted international travel, people have proved eager to get back on board flights.
But as demand for air travel has bounced back, staff shortages at airlines and airports have lead 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 said 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