BUSINESS NEWS


Michael O’Leary: ‘It’s a very unusual environment where capacity is down and demand surging. We’re looking at a fundamental shift toward Ryanair’


O’Leary tips Ryanair’s market share to grow


CEO claims carrier has ‘enormous cost advantage’ over rivals. Ian Taylor reports


Strong demand and a delay by most airlines in returning to pre-Covid capacity have allowed Ryanair to seize market share across Europe. The budget giant will operate


25% more capacity than in 2019 this summer, with group chief executive Michael O’Leary reporting: “Ryanair has taken enormous swathes of market share in almost all markets.” O’Leary hailed substantial gains


in market share in Italy, Ireland and Poland as he reported full-year profits


48 25 MAY 2023


in excess of €1.4 billion on Monday and plans for the airline to double its pre-Covid passenger numbers in the next decade. Ryanair’s share of the Italian


market rose from 27% to 40% in the 12 months to March, the share in its home market Ireland from 49% to 58% and in Poland from 26% to 36%. O’Leary said increased fares


across Europe are “driving traffic to Ryanair”, arguing: “Fares are rising 20% and we expect


fares to be stronger this summer.” He noted: “We’ve continued to


allocate a lot of aircraft to the Italian market, to Spain and the UK. “There is not much growth out


there for airlines with average fares of €150-€200. But there is for an airline with an average fare of €40 and costs of €30 [per passenger].” O’Leary insisted: “We’ve


Continued on page 46 travelweekly.co.uk


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