Ryanair said that they witnessed very strong bookings for the summer of 2023 with passenger bookings likely to touch a new all-time high.
On Monday, January 30, Europe’s largest passenger airline Ryanair posted results for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022. For the period between October-December last quarter, the airline company posted the largest after-tax profit boosted by demand from Asian travelers as well as the strong U.S. Dollar.
In future projections, the airline company stated that the bookings for Easter and summer flights were “very robust” in recent weeks. During the fourth quarter of last year, the Irish airline earned 211 million euros ($229.40 million). These profit numbers were above the forecasted 200 million euros in a company poll of analysts. Ryanair’s previous record-high profits were 106 million euros during the last quarter of 2017. Speaking on the development Ryanair’s Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said:
“Bookings are showing no signs of recession at this point in time. We had record bookings in week two and week three of January, very robust demand into Easter and the summer without fare stimulation”.
Ryanair further reiterated its forecast of further clocking an after-tax profit anywhere between 1.325 billion and 1.425 billion euros for the year through March 31st. Sorahan called it a “very comfortable” range. However, he declined to comment on an uptick in the fare price this summer adding that he was “encouraged by bookings at this point”. Analysts are expecting a single high-percentage points increase in Ryanair’s fare this summer 2023.
Ryanair: Overcoming the Demand Weakness in Q4 2022
Ryanair said that they are witnessing a pent-up demand for travel with the lifting up of the COVID-19 lockdowns. As a result, in January, the airline upgraded an earlier forecast of 1 billion-1.2 billion euros. In a statement, Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said:
“With Asian tourists now returning and a strong U.S. dollar encouraging Americans to explore Europe, we’re seeing robust demand”.
Also, the demand weakness in the U.K. reported earlier this month has disappeared and could be due to the transport strikes in the country, said O’Leary. But Ryanair is not alone in seeing strong bookings for the summer of 2023. Rival players Wizz Air and EasyJet have also reported strong bookings for this summer.
Unlike other airlines during the pandemic, Ryanair kept its pilots up-to-date with their flying hours in order to benefit from the swift rebound last year. During the last quarter, Ryanair flew a record 38.4 million passengers.
In Italy alone, Ryanair’s market share has jumped to 40% from 26% before the pandemic. Similarly in Poland, it has jumped to 38% from 27% before the pandemic. In the year through March 31, Ryanair is expecting to fly 168 million passengers. This will be well above its previous annual record of 149 million. O’Leary said that in the next financial year, passenger numbers will hit 185 million.
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