Ryanair Holdings plc today (Wed, 2 Feb) released January traffic statistics as follows:
| JAN 2021 | JAN 2022 | |
| TRAFFIC | 1.3m | 7.0m* |
| L. FACTOR | 69% | 79% |
Ryanair operated over 46,400 flights in January with a 79% load factor.
| PREVIOUS MONTHS | GUESTS | LOAD FACTOR |
| July | 9.3m | 80% |
| August | 11.1m | 82% |
| September | 10.6m | 81% |
| October | 11.3m | 84% |
| November | 10.2m | 86% |
| December | 9.5m* | 81% |
* DEC & JAN TRAFFIC BADLY AFFECTED BY OMICRON TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.
Ryanair Holdings today (31 Jan.) reported a Q3 net loss of €96m, compared to a PY Q3 loss of €321m. During this 3-month period:
| Q3 | 31 Dec. 2020 | 31 Dec. 2021 | Change |
| Customers | 8.1m | 31.1m | +286% |
| Load Factor | 70% | 84% | +14pts |
| Revenue | €0.34bn | €1.47bn | +331% |
| Op. Costs | €0.67bn | €1.59bn | +136% |
| Net Loss | (€321m) | (€96m) | n/m |
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, said:
ENVIRONMENT:
“Every passenger who switches to Ryanair from legacy airlines cuts their CO₂ emissions by up to 50% per flight. Over the next 5-years our traffic will grow by 50% to 225m p.a. This growth will be delivered on a fleet of new B737 “Gamechanger” aircraft, which offer 4% more seats, but burn 16% less fuel and reduce noise emissions by 40%.
Our work with the EU, fuel suppliers, and aircraft manufacturers to accelerate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply continues, in partnership with Trinity College Dublin. Ryanair hopes to power 12.5% of our flights using SAF by 2030. Ryanair aims to cut CO₂ per passenger/km by 10% to less than 60 grams by 2030. We are working with A4E and the EU Commission to accelerate reform of the Single European Sky, to minimise ATC inefficiency and delays which will significantly lower fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and flight delays.
In Q3 Ryanair published our “Aviation with Purpose” sustainability report highlighting ambitious environmental and social targets over the coming years and mapping out Ryanair’s path to net carbon zero by 2050. Our environmental strategy, and progress to date, enabled CDP to upgrade Ryanair’s climate protection rating to B from B- in Dec. 2021. This is a significant advance towards our goal of an independent climate “A” rating within the next 2 years.
SOCIAL:
Our 5-year growth plan will create over 6,000 new well paid jobs for highly trained pilots, cabin crew and engineers all over Europe. Last Oct. Ryanair invested €50m in a cutting-edge Aviation Skills Training Centre in Dublin and we plan to invest over €100m in 2 more, high skills, training centres (one possibly in Spain/Portugal and one in CEE) during this period. To facilitate this growth, Ryanair recently ordered up to 8 CAE full flight simulators (at a value of over $80m). The first of these new sims delivers in FY23.
Following the success of our first Customer Panel meeting in Sept., the Panel will meet again in Madrid in the Spring. We have implemented many of these customer suggestions, including a Day of Travel service in the Ryanair App to assist customers with live updates through every step of their Ryanair journey, a new Ryanair wallet for speedy refunds and an online self-service hub. Our unbending commitment to delivering our customers the lowest fares, the most on-time flights, an industry lowest CO₂ emissions and friendly customer service has seen Ryanair record its highest ever customer satisfaction (“CSAT”) score of 89% in Q3. Our on-time performance in the 3rd quarter, including the busy Christmas/ New Year period, was excellent with almost 90% of all Ryanair flights arriving in “on-time”.
COVID-19 – RECOVERY:
We delivered a strong traffic rebound in Q2 (Sept. quarter) following the successful rollout of the EU Digital Covid Certificates (“DCC”) in July, and the relaxation of EU travel restrictions. Q3 got off to a good start with strong bookings for the Oct. mid-term break, and less confusion (in Oct.) about the UK Govt.’s absurd ‘traffic light’ system. Ryanair’s load active/yield passive recovery strategy saw Oct. traffic rise to 11.3m (84% load factor). Our Nov. load factor improved to 86% (10.2m guests), albeit at lower fares. The sudden emergence of the Omicron variant (late Nov.), and the media hysteria it generated in Dec., forced many European Govts. to reimpose travel restrictions in the run-up to Christmas, which significantly weakened peak (close-in) Christmas & New Year bookings and fares. As a result, Dec. traffic slowed to just 9.5m (with a lower 81% load factor), well behind the expected target of 11m guests. Jan. capacity was cut by 33% on 22 Dec. which lowered the Jan. traffic target from 10m to between 6m-7m customers. We hope that the rollout of booster vaccines across Europe in recent weeks, and growing evidence that Omicron is less virulent than other variants, will enable EU Govts. to remove travel restrictions and restore consumer confidence in inter EU air travel well in advance of Easter and peak S.22.
The Covid-19 crisis accelerated the collapse of many European airlines including Flybe, Norwegian, Germanwings, Level, Stobart and led to material capacity cuts at many others including Alitalia, TAP, LOT, SAS, etc. The tsunami of State Aid from EU Govts. to their insolvent flag carriers (Alitalia, Air France/KLM, Iberia, LOT, Lufthansa, SAS, TAP and others) will distort EU competition and prop up high cost, inefficient, flag carriers for some years. Ryanair was one of very few airlines during the Covid crisis to place significant new aircraft orders, to expand our airport partnerships and to secure lower operating costs so that we can pass on even lower fares on many new routes during the post Covid recovery. Together with our airport partners, we are leading Europe’s traffic recovery and we plan to deliver accelerated traffic growth and jobs over the next 5 years.
GROWTH:
Over the past 9 months our Route Development team continued to work with like-minded airport partners to negotiate lower airport costs, recovery incentives and growth deals. In addition to 15 new bases (Agadir, Billund, Chania, Corfu, Cork, Madeira, Newcastle, Nuremberg, Riga, Stockholm, Venice (Marco-Polo), Venice (Treviso), Turin, Zadar & Zagreb), 720 new routes were announced and low-cost long term growth deals were extended in Stansted (to 2028), Bergamo (2028), Manchester (2028), East Midlands (2028) and Charleroi (2030). Our Group has doubled its capacity in Rome (FCO), Lisbon, Vienna and we will base a record 33 aircraft in Dublin for S.22. Regrettably, our 5 aircraft base at Frankfurt Main will close in Mar. as Frankfurt’s price increases rendered it unable to compete with the many low cost airports across Europe and Germany (Nuremberg) seeking to accelerate traffic recovery and growth.
Up to the end of Q3, Ryanair has taken delivery of 41 B737-8200 “Gamechanger” aircraft and we hope to have over 65 new aircraft in our fleet for peak S.22 when our capacity will be approx. 114% of S.19 (pre-Covid) levels. These Gamechangers widen the cost gap between Ryanair and all other European airlines for the next decade. Their operational reliability, fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions have so far exceeded guidelines, with universally positive passenger and crew feedback. Based on our 210 order book and available fleet capacity, the Ryanair Group plan to accelerate traffic growth over the next 5 years. From a pre-Covid annual traffic of 149m, we now expect to grow by 50% to over 225m guests p.a. by FY26 (previously 33% growth to 200m p.a.).
Q3 FY22 BUSINESS REVIEW:
Revenue & Costs
Q3 scheduled revenues increased 345% to €0.79bn as traffic recovered strongly from 8.1m to 31.1m guests (at an 84% load factor). Despite a strong start to Q3, especially the school’s mid-term break in Oct., the Omicron variant, and return of travel restrictions in early Dec., significantly damaged (higher yielding) close-in Christmas & New Year bookings. Ave. fares in Q3 were just €25 (down 24% on the same quarter pre Covid). Ancillary revenue delivered a solid performance, generating €22 per passenger (+8%), as guests choose priority boarding and reserved seating. Total revenues increased by over 330% to €1.47bn in Q3.
While sectors more than doubled (+220%) and traffic rose 286%, operating costs increased by just 136% to €1.59bn, driven primarily by lower variable costs such as airport & handling, route charges and improved fuel burn as more Gamechangers enter the fleet (offset by the higher cost of jet fuel). Lower costs, coupled with rising load factors, saw unit cost per passenger in Q3 (ex-fuel) reduce to €32, an excellent performance.
Our fuel requirements are almost fully hedged for Q4 FY22 (over 60% jet swaps at $580 per metric tonne, with caps hedging the balance at $750). H1 FY23 is 80% hedged (60% jet swaps at $620 and 20% caps at $715) and H2 FY23 is 70% hedged at $640. Carbon credits are fully hedged for FY22 and 80% hedged for FY23 at €24 and €45 per EUA respectively (well below the current spot price of c.€85). Ryanair’s very strong and sensible hedging policy will deliver significant savings for all our customers and shareholders at a time when many airline competitors have unwisely reduced or abandoned sensible hedging strategies.
Balance Sheet & Liquidity
Ryanair’s balance sheet is one of the strongest in the industry with a BBB (stable) credit rating (S&P and Fitch), almost €3bn cash (at 31 Dec.) and 90% of our B737 fleet unencumbered. In Oct. the Group repaid its UK CCFF £600m loan 5 months early. During the Covid crisis, net debt has risen to over €2bn. We plan to reduce this net debt to zero as quickly as possible over the next 2 years. Strong operating cashflows, offset by €0.8bn capex (mainly Gamechanger deliveries and aircraft deposits), drove a slight reduction in net debt to €2.1bn at 31 Dec. (31 Mar.: €2.3bn). The strength of Ryanair’s balance sheet ensures that the Group is well poised to capitalise rapidly on the many growth opportunities that exist in Europe into the post Covid-19 recovery in 2022 and 2023.
OUTLOOK:
The outlook for pricing and yields for the remainder of FY22 is hugely uncertain. As announced on 22 Dec., our Jan. capacity was cut by 33% (reducing traffic from approx. 10m to between 6m-7m). While recent bookings have improved, following easing of travel restrictions, the booking curve remains very late and close-in, so Q4 traffic requires significant price stimulation at lower prices to quickly recover load factors which suffered steep declines due to the Omicron collapse in bookings over the Christmas/New Year period. Ryanair’s full year traffic forecast remains unchanged at ‘just under’ 100m passengers, but due to Covid uncertainty the FY22 net loss guidance remains within a wider than normal range of €250m to €450m. This outturn is hugely sensitive to any further positive or negative Covid news flow and so we would caution all shareholders to expect further Covid disruptions before we here in Europe and the rest of the world can finally declare that the Covid crisis is behind us.”
[1] CDP – Carbon Disclosure Project is an independent, non-profit, global environmental reporting organisation.
With the most romantic day of the year looming, Ryanair is spreading the love with the launch of its special seat sale for proud singletons looking for a romantic trip for one this Valentine’s. With fares from just €16.99, solo travellers can treat themselves to a break in one of Europe’s top destinations this Valentine’s. Whether you fancy a trip in a city full of romance or a weekend of culture, Ryanair’s Valentine’s seat sale will bring you wherever your heart desires.
While travelling with your other half can be a nice experience, Ryanair has compiled a much longer list of merits of flying solo this Valentine’s:
A spokesperson for Ryanair said:
“Roses are red, adventure is great, you should try flying solo – you don’t need a date! We’re calling on all proud singletons to take the plunge (not THAT plunge) and book a trip ‘from me to me’ this Valentine’s and enjoy the ride (of a Ryanair flight).
Travel to one of Europe’s favourite city destinations, or opt for somewhere a little more off the beaten track – you do you. Fares are available from just €16.99 for travel until 26th March when you book by 16th February, so head over to Ryanair.com where your solo trip of a lifetime could be only a click away!”
Ryanair has today (Wed 12 Jan) called on the European Commission to ignore Lufthansa’s false claims about operating “ghost flights” just so they can “block” their slots and protect themselves from competition from low fare airlines. The solution is simple, Lufthansa should sell the seats on these flights at low fares, and reward EU consumers many of whom have funded the €12bn of State Aid that Lufthansa and their subsidiaries in Belgium, Austria and Switzerland have already received from hard pressed taxpayers over the last 2 years of the Covid crisis.
Lufthansa complains about “ghost flights”, not because of concerns about the environment, but rather so they can further save the slot regime to protect their slots, which they aren’t using, while eliminating competition and consumer choice.
Ryanair’s Group CEO Michael O’Leary said:
“The solution to Lufthansa’s “ghost flights” problem is a simple one – just sell these seats to consumers. If Lufthansa really needs to operate these flights (solely to prevent the release of these slots to competitor airlines), then they should be required to sell these seats to the public at low fares. The German and EU public have already bailed out Lufthansa with billions of State Aid to Lufthansa and their subsidiaries, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Austrian, and instead of operating empty flights just so they can block slots, Lufthansa should release the seats on these flights for sale at low fares to reward the German and European taxpayers who have subsidized it with €billions during the Covid crisis.
Lufthansa loves crying crocodile tears about the environment when doing everything possible to protect its slots. Slots are the way it blocks competition and limits choice at big hub airports like Frankfurt, Brussels Zaventem, Vienna, among others. If Lufthansa doesn’t want to operate “ghost flights” to protect its slots, then simply sell these seats at low fares, and help accelerate the recovery of short and long haul air travel to and from Europe.
In the meantime, Ryanair again calls on the European Commission to force Lufthansa and other State subsidised airlines to release slots that they do not wish to use, so that low fare GHOSTBUSTERS like Ryanair, among others, can offer choice, competition, and lower fares at these hub airports. The EU should ignore Lufthansa’s disingenuous claims about “ghost flights” when the solution is simple – sell the seats on these flights and then they will no longer need to be ‘afraid of no ghost’ flights”.
Ryanair Holdings plc today (Wed, 5 Jan) released December traffic statistics as follows:
| DEC 2020 | DEC 2021 | |
| TRAFFIC | 1.9m | 9.5m |
| L. FACTOR | 73% | 81% |
Ryanair operated over 62,200 flights in December with an 81% load factor.
| PREVIOUS MONTHS | GUESTS | LOAD FACTOR |
| July | 9.3m | 80% |
| August | 11.1m | 82% |
| September | 10.6m | 81% |
| October | 11.3m | 84% |
| November | 10.2m | 86% |
Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, has today (08 Dec) announced that it has been awarded a ‘B’ rating on climate protection from the CDP – an international non-profit that helps organisations to disclose their environmental impact. This rating shows an improvement on Ryanair’s rating for the previous year (‘B-’) and recognises the significant work that Ryanair has undertaken to manage its environmental impact to date.
This result confirms Ryanair’s high level of value chain engagement, transparency in the disclosure of CO2 emissions, and its industry leading CO2 emissions reduction initiatives, such as the airlines $22bn investment in new ‘Gamechanger’ aircraft that reduce CO2 emissions by 16% while carrying 4% more passengers, all of which Ryanair was awarded the top standard “A” rating for.
Ryanair has set a goal of achieving an overall CDP rating of ‘A’ in the next two years.
Ryanair’s Director of Sustainability, Thomas Fowler, said:
“We are delighted to be awarded a ‘B’ rating in this year’s CDP. This acknowledges Ryanair’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact. Over the years we have reduced our environmental footprint, leading us to be one of the most environmentally efficient airlines. We did this through investing in innovative technology and by driving a company-wide decarbonisation programme.”
Ryanair Holdings plc today (Thurs, 2 Dec) released November traffic statistics as follows:
| RYR GROUP | NOV 2020 | NOV 2021 |
| TRAFFIC | 2.0m | 10.2m |
| L. FACTOR | 62% | 86% |
| GUESTS | LOAD FACTOR | |
| July | 9.3m | 80% |
| August | 11.1m | 82% |
| September | 10.6m | 81% |
| October | 11.3m | 84% |
| November | 10.2m | 86% |
Ryanair operated over 62,300 flights in November with an 86% load factor.