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☆ Ryanair posts near record FY profit, summer demand robust
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I) on Monday posted a near record profit of 1.43 billion euros ($1.57 billion) in the year to end-March and said it was cautiously optimistic that profits would rise modestly in the next 12 months, with summer demand notably robust. The low cost carrier flew a record 168.6 million passengers in the year through March 31, beating its previous annual record of 149 million reached before the pandemic. Ryanair hiked its after-tax profit forecast to 1.325 billion to 1.425 billion euros in January after stronger than expected Christmas traffic and fares. The final number compared with a forecast of 1.398 billion euros in a company poll of analysts. It made a loss of 355 million euros in the previous pandemic-hit financial year and the turnaround came close to topping the record 1.45 billion euro profit Ryanair made in the year to March 31, 2018.

☆ Travel is seen 'much more as a necessity' now than a luxury, says Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTravel is seen 'much more as a necessity' now than a luxury, says Ryanair CEO Michael O'LearyRyanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss company's full year results, summer travel season, and more.

☆ Ryanair reports bumper profit on 'favorable' fuel hedges, sees major industry consolidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ryanair reported a bumper full-year profit for 2022/23 on the back of resurgent traffic and favorable oil hedges. Ryanair on Monday posted a full-year net profit of 1.43 billion euros ($1.55 billion), aided by resurgent traffic and fares, along with favorable oil hedging positions. The Irish low-cost carrier reported a 74% increase in full-year traffic to 168.6 million customers, while fares were up 10% on pre-Covid levels. $64bbl) contributed significantly to the final FY23 profit outcome, saving the Group over €1.4bn," CEO Michael O'Leary said in Monday's earnings report. But he said Ryanair is confident it can cover the cost increase and grow profits "modestly" on a year-on-year basis.

Europe's biggest low-cost carrier said it was placing a firm order for 150 of the largest version of Boeing's narrow-body jet family, known as the 737 MAX 10, with options for another 150. The deal delivers a boost to the 737 MAX, Boeing's best-selling jet whose deliveries have been depressed by a two-year safety crisis and post-COVID disruption. "Boeing wanted us to step up the scale and size of the order even to get the discounts that we [got]." Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun countered during a press conference that no premium was high enough for the jet, in a jovial back-and-forth. On Monday, Reuters first reported that Ryanair was close to a major deal for Boeing jets.

Ryanair said the order would allow it to almost double its traffic to 300 million passengers per year by March 2034 from the 168 million flown to the end of March this year. On Monday, Reuters first reported that Ryanair was close to a major deal for Boeing jets. But its boss pledged not to overpay for the 30 extra seats, telling Reuters in March he could also order more of the existing 200-seat 737 MAX 8200. Ryanair said the deal was worth $40 billion at list prices, though experts note typical discounts run at more than 50%. "Ryanair operates a 737 fleet and is pretty locked in," with Airbus (AIR.PA) sold out for years and China years away from being to supply the West, Agency Partners analyst Nick Cunningham said.

☆ Ryanair set to order jets from Boeing, burying hatchet after price spat
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, May 9 (Reuters) - Ireland's Ryanair (RYA.I) is set to bury the hatchet with its exclusive supplier and place a multi-billion-dollar order for Boeing jets on Wednesday, ending an 18-month spat over prices. Boeing (BA.N) said it would make a "major announcement" at 1300 GMT, but gave no further details. The 737 MAX sells for up to $131 million at list prices but typical discounts run at more than 50% and details of final pricing are confidential. But the bond between Ryanair and Boeing loosened following the pandemic as low-cost carriers expanded markets. But he has pledged not to overpay for the 30 extra seats, telling Reuters in March he was also looking at more orders of the 200-seat 737 MAX 8200.

☆ Ryanair orders at least 150 of Boeing's largest 737 Max planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft as seen flying, landing and taxiing at Eindhoven Airport EIN. Ryanair said it plans to buy at least 150 Boeing 737 10 Max planes with options for 150 more. Ryanair stopped negotiations for a big Max order in September 2021 because of a dispute over pricing. Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, said the new planes will replace older 737 jets in its fleet. Boeing's next challenge is ramping up production of the 737 Max.

Charles de Gaulle airport is negatively affected, both as a destination and as a hub," said Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights at travel data firm ForwardKeys. Some 33,300 flights were cancelled this year over Easter, compared with 7,800 last year, while 9,000 flights were delayed by more than three hours, compared to 6,800 last year. Around 73% of flights were on time, compared with 76% in 2022 and 81% in 2019. There were 33,700 flights cancelled, compared with 26,600 last year, while 10,800 flights, which made up 1% of all total flights, were delayed by more than three hours, up from 9,500 last year. Air traffic authority Eurocontrol previously warned that delays could continue into the northern hemisphere summer, especially if strikes keep going.

Strikes have rolled through France, Portugal, Britain and Germany in recent weeks and could cause air travel disruption in parts of Europe through the Easter holidays, officials at airlines, airports and air traffic authorities told Reuters. There's no doubt about it," said Steven Moore, who is in charge of air traffic management operations at Eurocontrol. Airlines say they have to pay compensation without themselves getting compensated for air traffic delays. Consumer groups say air traffic control strikes are not new and airlines should be quicker to react and pay compensation. He called last week on the European Commission to do more to stop such strikes hitting overflights, by introducing minimum service rules, though industry experts say strikes are a national issue.

☆ Ryanair says price still key to new Boeing jet deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, March 29 (Reuters) - The boss of European budget carrier Ryanair (RYA.I) said on Wednesday attractive discounts remained the key to securing a new plane deal with Boeing <BA.N after the two sides resumed talks following an 18-month hiatus over jet prices. Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told Reuters that Ryanair was looking at two models: the roughly 200-seat 737 MAX 8200, which is already "performing well," and the larger 737 MAX 10, which is still in development and awaiting certification. Talks resumed after Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun and Stan Deal, head of its commercial division, approached Ryanair two months ago offering to get negotiations started again, O'Leary said. "They are back talking to us; I think it takes maybe six, nine months to get a deal done," O'Leary said. In September 2021, it said it had halted talks for an order of the 737 MAX 10 because of a pricing dispute.

☆ Ryanair's O'Leary says talks restarted with Boeing for new aircraft order - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 23 (Reuters) - Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA.I) is optimistic on striking a major new aircraft order after the Irish airline restarted talks with Boeing Co (BA.N), its top boss said in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday. Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary said there was a 'deal to be done' with negotiations between the Irish airline and Boeing in "the early stages" for a new order of Boeing 737 jets, according to the newspaper. I think there is a deal to be done," the report quoted O'Leary as saying. He added that the new multibillion-dollar order could be for the 737 Max 10 or for the smaller Max 8200, according to the report. Boeing declined to comment, while Ryanair did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

☆ IAG agrees to buy 80% stake in Air Europa for 400 mln euros
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Charlie Devereux | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Air Europa, which will maintain its brand but will be managed by Iberia, owns 50 planes and has a further 15 on order, the company said. It said the first 200 million euros will be paid once the deal gets the go-ahead from antitrust authorities. Another 100 million euros will be paid in IAG shares while the final 100 million euros will be paid in cash. As the pandemic tipped the airline industry into crisis, hitting Air Europa particularly hard, shareholders in both companies agreed to cut the deal's price tag to 500 million euros. Negotiations had all but ground to a halt until March 2022 when IAG agreed to grant Air Europa a 100 million-euro loan convertible into a 20% stake.

LISBON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Europe was entering an "inevitable" post-pandemic period of airline consolidation as legacy flag-carriers struggle to navigate through a competitive landscape, the chief executive of low-cost carrier Ryanair (RYA.I) said on Wednesday. "We are definitely, post-COVID, entering a four or five-year period of consolidation," Ryanair's Michael O'Leary told Reuters on the sidelines of a news briefing in Portugal's capital Lisbon. Many of Europe's legacy airlines are finding it tough to effectively compete with budget carriers, hampered by weak balance sheets that could be made more robust by merging with rivals, analysts have said. Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG are potential buyers, according to analysts. O'Leary said he believed the sector in Europe would move towards having four large airlines: Lufthansa, Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA), IAG and and Ryanair.

☆ Ryanair hiring Ukraine staff in anticipation of return after war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBLIN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I) is hiring significant numbers of Ukrainian pilots and cabin crew so that it will be ready to return to the country when the war with Russia ends, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Monday. "We are very committed to returning to Ukraine as soon as it is safe to do so," said O'Leary, who had said on the eve of the conflict that he was considering basing up to 20 aircraft in the country. "We are hiring quite a number of Ukraine pilots and cabin crew specifically so that we can ... restore bases in Ukraine if and when it is safe to do so," O'Leary told analysts after the release of third-quarter financial results. Writing by Conor Humphries Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ryanair posts record Christmas quarter, sees 'very robust' summer demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ryanair on Monday posted its largest after-tax profit for the October-December quarter and said bookings for Easter and summer flights in recent weeks were "very robust", boosted by demand from Asian travelers and a strong U.S. dollar. "We had record bookings in week two and week three of January, very robust demand into Easter and the summer without fare stimulation," he said. The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, said it had earned 211 million euros ($229.40 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, the third quarter of its financial year. "With Asian tourists now returning and a strong U.S. dollar encouraging Americans to explore Europe, we're seeing robust demand," Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary said in a statement. Last week, rivals Wizz Air and EasyJet reported strong summer bookings.

Lufthansa has offered to buy an initial minority stake in ITA, Italy's state-owned successor to Alitalia, it said on Wednesday. "This may be the next step in European airline consolidation," said Bernstein analyst Alex Irving, citing Portugal's national airline, TAP, as a prime target. Lufthansa, Air-France KLM (AIRF.PA) and British Airways owner IAG (ICAG.L) are potential buyers, analysts said. "At the same time, however, we closely monitor consolidation in the European airline market." Michael O'Leary, the outspoken CEO of fellow low-cost airline Ryanair (RYA.I), also weighed in with his predictions this week.

☆ Ryanair CEO sees high single digit air fare rise in 'very strong' summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary poses for a photo after an interview with Reuters in Rome, Italy, January 12, 2023. "The outlook for the summer at the moment is very strong, strong booking, strong pricing," the CEO of Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers said in an interview after announcing new routes from Italy. "I think there is a reasonable prospect that this summer again we will see high-single digit price increases, certainly for short-haul European air travel," he said, despite risks from new variants of the coronavirus and adverse developments in Ukraine. "We don't worry too much about recession or consumer spending because that would drive more and more people to low cost airlines like Ryanair," he added. ($1 = 0.9265 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Jane Merriman and Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ryanair sees high single digit air fare rise in 'very strong' summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary poses for a photo after an interview with Reuters in Rome, Italy, January 12, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneROME, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I) believes the outlook for summer travel is very strong with a reasonable prospect of average European short-haul air fares rising by a high single digit percentage, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told Reuters on Thursday. He had previously said the airline would be lucky to get 40 by June. Reporting by Angelo Amante, writing by Padraic Halpin in Dublin. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rolls-Royce uses hydrogen produced with wind and tidal power to test jet engine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The test used a converted regional aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, with hydrogen produced at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. LONDON — Plans to reduce the significant environmental effects of aviation took a step forward this week after Rolls-Royce and easyJet said they had carried out the ground test of a jet engine that used hydrogen produced from tidal and wind power. The test, which was carried out at an outdoor site in the U.K., used a converted regional aircraft engine from London-listed Rolls-Royce. "This is a true British success story, with the hydrogen being used to power the jet engine today produced using tidal and wind energy from the Orkney Islands of Scotland," Shapps added. Using hydrogen to power an internal combustion engine is different to hydrogen fuel cell technology, where hydrogen from a tank mixes with oxygen, generating electricity.

☆ Ryanair will be lucky to get 40 new Boeing jets by June - CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBLIN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I) will be lucky to receive 40 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX aircraft by the end of June from the 51 due for delivery, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday, potentially impacting the airline's planned growth for 2023. "We're contracted to get 51 aircraft from Boeing before the end of April. We will be lucky to get 40 aircraft by the end of June next year and that's critical to our continued growth," O'Leary told a Eurocontrol event. Ryanair plans to grow from a record 168 million passengers this financial year to 185 million next. O'Leary said earlier this month that he was concerned Boeing might fall 5-10 aircraft short, knocking 1 or 2 million from that target.

☆ Ryanair expects to emerge as Europe's only major low-cost carrier
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBLIN, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I) on Monday predicted it would eventually become Europe's only major low-cost carrier, with Chief Executive Michael O'Leary claiming a widening gap on costs would make rivals easyJet (EZJ.L) and Wizz (WIZZ.L) takeover targets. "Europe is inexorably moving towards a similar out-turn as North America where you will have three very large, somewhat higher cost, high-fare connecting carriers, and one very large low cost carrier" in Ryanair, O'Leary said. Wizz chief executive Jozsef Varadi, who has always maintained his cost base is comparable to Ryanair's, last week said he did not see his airline as a takeover target. But he said the British airline was being forced by Ryanair to retreat in other markets like Italy and Portugal. Wizz, O'Leary said, was making progress with expansion in the Middle East but was retreating in the face of Ryanair expansion in some parts of its core central and eastern Europe region.

☆ Ryanair hails 'very strong' recovery with record summer profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Conor Humphries | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, earned 1.371 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in the six months to the end of September, the first half of its financial year. While that was just short of a forecast of 1.385 billion in a company poll of analysts, it was well ahead of its previous first-half record of 1.29 billion euros in 2017. "We expect these strong fundamentals will continue to underpin robust traffic and average fare growth for the next 18-months at least," he said. Profit and traffic are poised for "very strong growth" until 2025 assuming oil prices remain relatively stable, he added in a video presentation. However, while the airline is planning for the deliver of 51 737 MAX aircraft by next summer, O'Leary said he was concerned Boeing might fall short.

☆ Ryanair reports record summer profit, sees 'very strong' recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Conor Humphries | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ryanair earned 1.371 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in the six months to the end of September. While the winter will be loss-making, Ryanair expects an after-tax profit of between 1 billion and 1.2 billion euros for the year to March 31, though that forecast remains "hugely dependent" on no adverse shocks. "Concerns about the impact of recession and rising consumer price inflation on Ryanair’s business model have been greatly exaggerated in recent months," O'Leary said in a statement. "We expect these strong fundamentals will continue to underpin robust traffic and average fare growth for the next 18-months at least," he said. In a pre-recorded video presentation he predicted very strong growth in profit and traffic over the next three years assuming oil prices remain relatively stable.

☆ Ryanair posts record profit for key summer season
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBLIN, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I) on Monday posted its largest ever after-tax profit for the first half of its financial year, which includes the key summer months, and said it hoped to post a profit of at least 1 billion euros for its full financial year. The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, said it had earned 1.371 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in the six months to the end of September. That compared with a forecast of 1.385 billion in a company poll of analysts and its previous first-half record of 1.29 billion euros in the six months to end-September 2017. Ryanair said it was hopeful it could deliver an after-tax profit of between 1 billion and 1.2 billion euros for the year to March 31. ($1 = 1.0053 euros)Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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