Ryanair reports bumper profits as it enjoys ‘pent-up travel demand’
The airline has reported a massive uptake in its commercial flights since the pandemic.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ryanair has reported profits of 211 million euro (£185 million) for the last three months, nearly triple its profits for the same period pre-Covid.
The budget airline said “pent-up travel demand” over the October half-term and Christmas holidays has led to a bumper quarter.
For the same quarter pre-Covid, it made 88 million euro (£77 million) and this year it said passenger numbers are 7% higher than before the pandemic, with 38.4 million using the airline from October-December.
Ryanair has also announced 230 new routes and said it is expanding in Italy, Poland, Ireland and Spain, while more than 95% of crews have also had their pay cuts restored by agreement, the company added.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said his company has added a further 11 aircraft to its Gamechangers fleet, which has 4% fewer seats and uses 16% less fuel.
He also said that an investment of more than 200 million dollars (£161 million) will save 1.5% of fuel by retrofitting existing aircraft with scimitar winglets.