BUSINESS NEWS
Ryanair chief: Recession will dampen the recovery
Ian Taylor
A full post-Covid travel recovery will be delayed by “the energy price shock” and recession, and the market will struggle this winter and through 2023, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary warned last week. Speaking as the carrier unveiled
its largest winter schedule from the UK, chief executive O’Leary suggested: “Consumer price inflation will be as nothing to the energy price shock this winter.” But he insisted Ryanair will “steam ahead in what is a favourable market for us”. He argued: “You would be crazy
not to be worried about a looming recession and energy crisis. But people won’t stop flying and in a recession people get much more price-sensitive. “Some may travel less, but we’ll
see more people trading down to the lowest-fare operator, which is us. The question is not can people afford to fly but can people afford to fly with British Airways or Lufthansa?” O’Leary warned: “The overall
market will struggle. Recession will significantly dampen the recovery. The market in 2023 and 2024
O’Leary demands action against ‘piracy’ by OTAs
Michael O’Leary accused online travel agents of “piracy” and “price gouging” and called on consumer protection bodies to act last week. The Ryanair chief urged
consumers to “avoid using OTAs”,
travelweekly.co.uk O’Leary: ‘We’re well hedged on fuel at low prices’
won’t return to pre-Covid levels.” He added: “A lot of capacity is not
coming back.” But he argued: “Every time there
is a recession we grow faster. This will be our fourth or fifth. We’ll grow stronger as we have in every other recession. We’ll grow as we’re the lowest-cost airline and have game- changer, fuel-efficient Boeing 737 Max aircraft. We’re well hedged on our fuel at low prices and we’ll be much more efficient.” Ryanair operated 15% more
capacity this summer than in 2019 and O’Leary insisted the carrier would maintain this rate of growth, saying: “I’ve never tempered a
growth plan in my life. We’re leading the UK post-Covid recovery. Our flights are filling quicker than pre-Covid and fares are higher.” But he added: “It’s inevitable fares
will go up. High oil prices mean they have to. There will be pressure on airfares into summer 2023. “The energy crisis will affect the
whole of Europe this winter. Where does inflation finish up? It depends how deep and dark the recession is and where the oil price settles. We expect aggressive growth, but fuel will be a challenge. The days of £9.99 or £14.99 seats are probably over. Our average fares will rise over the next four to five years.”
‘Labour discontent more likely than flight disruption’
The worst of the post-pandemic disruption to air travel is over with strikes more likely to disrupt air traffic this winter, according to Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary. The airline group’s boss
declared: “I’m confident we’re out of the worst. The recruitment challenges at the start of the summer have been addressed with the exception of Heathrow.” He added: “We’ve had none
of the cancellations other airlines have. We operate at 21 UK airports and had problems only at Gatwick and Manchester at the start of the summer. They’ve largely fixed that.” But O’Leary warned: “You are
more likely to face industrial action. You may see labour discontent. Industrial action will be with as in some form since we operate at more than 100 airports [around Europe].” More than 1,000 workers at
Stansted – firefighters, maintenance and security staff and cleaners – are balloting on strike action over pay in a vote which closes on September 19. Trade union Unite has warned of “significant disruption” if a strike goes ahead, but O’Leary insisted: “If there is a strike, we’ll work our way around it.”
Michael O’Leary
Opodo and
Kiwi.com of applying “hidden mark-ups to flights and ancillary services” and of “masquerading as us, trading on keywords and overcharging people”. He said: “Many of these OTAs
saying the airline had passed evidence of “price gouging” to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). O’Leary accused eDreams,
provide Ryanair with false customer contacts and fake payment details, preventing customers from receiving flight updates or refunds.” O’Leary revealed Ryanair still
has 200,000 refunds for pandemic- era cancellations outstanding,
saying this was “because we have fake contact or fake payment details from OTAs”. He accused consumer protection
bodies of failing to act, arguing: “If we were doing this, we would have the consumer protection people jumping all over us.” He insisted Ryanair would take
legal action against OTAs wherever it could, noting: “We’re in court with OTAs in most EU countries, but it’s very slow.”
8 SEPTEMBER 2022 55
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Longfin Media
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