Ryanair, Europe’s no. 1 airline, has today (31 Jan) called on the European Commission once again to take urgent action to protect overflights during yet another French ATC strike taking place from 17.00, 30 Jan – 06.00, 1 Feb, as already happens in Greece and Italy, and prevent unnecessary disruption to the travel plans of EU citizens from the likes of Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK.

The EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly failed to protect Europe’s single market for air travel by allowing flights overflying France to be hijacked time after time by tiny French ATC unions who close the skies over France for EU passengers travelling to/from countries outside France while protecting the flights of French citizens and French domestic flights.

Hundreds of thousands of airline passengers were delayed last summer due to French ATC strikes, a problem which could easily be resolved with intervention by the EU Commission to protect overflights when ATC in individual member states go on strike, as already happens in Greece and Italy, and stop the unnecessary disruption to EU passengers last Summer being repeated in Summer ’23.

Ryanair confirmed that it has been forced to cancel a small number of flights to/from France today (31 Jan) as a result of this pointless ATC strike, and advises passengers travelling to/from/over France during this period to check the Ryanair website or app for flight status updates before travelling to the airport.

Ryanair’s Neal McMahon said:

“It is inexplicable that the EU Commission continues to sit on their hands and ignore the widespread impact that these French ATC strikes have on EU passengers who are not even travelling to/from France, while the French Govt use their minimum services policy to protect French domestic flights for French citizens.

Ryanair once again calls on the EU Commission under Ursula Von Der Leyen to take immediate action to protect European citizens travelling from the likes of Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the UK whose travel plans will be needlessly disrupted today (31 Jan) due to the EU Commission’s repeated inaction to protect overflights when French ATC go on strike.

Protecting overflights during ATC strikes in individual member states, as they do in Greece and Italy, is the most simple and effective solution to avoid unnecessary mass disruption and should be immediately implemented by the EU Commission to prevent the needless disruption of ATC strikes last summer being repeated in Summer ’23.”

Ryanair today (Tue, 31 Jan) confirmed that its Malta Air subsidiary has signed long-term Collective Labour Agreements with Dansk Metal, the most representative union for both pilots and cabin crew in Denmark, on behalf of its Billund-based pilots and cabin crew. Under these long-term agreements, Ryanair Group Billund-based pilots and cabin crew will receive significant pay increases and other benefit improvements until April 2025 (cabin crew) and April 2026 (pilots).

Ryanair’s Billund based pilots and cabin crew are employed on Danish contracts of employment governed by Danish law, pay Danish Income tax / Social Insurance, and with the benefit of the Danish Salaried Workers Act & Danish Holiday Act.

Ryanair is Denmark’s fastest growing airline and the only airline in Denmark to recover pre-Covid traffic, operating over 70 routes, connecting 18 countries and carrying 3 million passengers for Summer 2023. Danish citizens and visitors continue to enjoy Ryanair’s industry leading low fares and reliability from Copenhagen, Billund, Aarhus, and Aalborg.

Ryanair’s People Director, Darrell Hughes, said:

“We welcome these collective agreements with Dansk Metal which will deliver significant pay increases and other benefit improvements for our Billund-based pilots and cabin crew. These historic agreements follow many months of intensive negotiations and will support Ryanair’s $200m investment in 2 based aircraft at Billund. These agreements negotiated with Dansk Metal and pilot and cabin crew representatives help secure well-paid, highly skilled aviation employment in Billund on Danish pay, Danish conditions, Danish social insurance and Danish taxes. Ryanair looks forward to continuing to invest and create jobs in Denmark as we to grow to carry 225m passengers p.a. by 2026.”

Ryanair Holdings plc today (30 Jan.) reported a Q3 PAT of €211m, compared to a pre-Covid (FY20) Q3 PAT of €88m.  Strong pent-up travel demand over the Oct. mid-term and peak Christmas/New Year holiday season (with no adverse impact from Covid or the war in Ukraine) stimulated strong traffic and fares across all markets.

	31 Dec. 2021	31 Dec. 2022	Change
Customers	31.1m	38.4m	+24%
Load Factor	84%	93%	+9pts
Revenue	€1.47bn	€2.31bn	+57%
Op. Costs	€1.59bn	€2.15bn*	+36%
Net (Loss)/ PAT	(€96m)	€211m*	n/m
EPS	(€0.08)	€0.18	n/m

* Non-IFRS financial measure, excl. €9m except. unrealised mark-to-market loss (timing unwind) on jet fuel caps.

During Q3:

• Traffic jumped 24% to 38.4m (+7% pre-Covid in FY20). 
• Q3 fares rise 14% on pre-Covid levels.
• Pay cuts restored by agreement in Dec. (28-months early) for over 95% of crews.
• YTD unit costs (ex-fuel) of just €30.
• 84 B737-8200 “Gamechangers” delivered at 31 Dec. Total fleet of 523 aircraft.
• 230 new routes announced for FY24 (total 2,450 routes).
• Strong market share gains in Italy, Poland, Ireland & Spain.
• H1 FY24 fuel hedging increased to 60% cover at $90bbl.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, said:

ENVIRONMENT:

“Our investment in new fuel efficient, greener, B737 aircraft continued in Q3 with our Gamechanger fleet (4% more seats with 16% less fuel) increasing by 11 to 84 aircraft.  In Q3 we began to retro-fit scimitar winglets on our 409 B737-800NG owned fleet (a $200m+ investment) which will further reduce fuel burn by 1.5%. 

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will play a key role in reducing our CO₂ per pax/km by 10% to 60 grams by 2030, when hopefully 12.5% of our flights will be powered with SAF.  We continue to invest to accelerate supply of SAF.  Building on our successful partnerships with Neste (Schiphol) and OMV (Austria, Germany and CEE), Ryanair signed an MOU in Q3 with Shell to supply 360,000 tonnes of SAF between 2025 – 2030 (saving 900,000 tonnes of CO₂), at Ryanair’s larger bases in London and Dublin.  In Dec. we hosted a Sustainability Day with our partner Trinity College Dublin (“TCD”).  This event brought together industry leaders, scientists and engineers (incl. Boeing, MAG, Safran, Shell Aviation, Ryanair, TCD academics and PhD students) who presented to an audience of investors, politicians, regulators and financial institutions on Ryanair’s (and the aviation industry) path to net carbon zero by 2050.  Through A4E, and the EU, we are campaigning to accelerate reform of European ATC to eliminate needless flight delays, which will substantially reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.   

Passengers who switch to Ryanair (from high-fare EU legacy airlines) can reduce their emissions by up to 50% per flight. In recognition of our progress to date and our industry leading (CDP ‘B’) climate rating, MSCI increased Ryanair’s ESG score to ‘BBB’ (was ‘B’) and Sustainalytics[1] ranked Ryanair the No.1 airline in Europe for ESG performance.  Earlier this year, we submitted Ryanair’s commitment letter to SBTi[2] and we will work with them over the next 2 years to verify our ambitious targets to become net carbon zero by 2050. 

SOCIAL:

Pay restoration:

At the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ryanair and its union partners negotiated agreements to protect crew jobs via temporary pay cuts which were to be gradually restored from 2022 to 2025. These agreements successfully ensured crew jobs security through the 2 years Covid pandemic, as Ryanair maintained not only the jobs but also the licences of our crews.  This investment positioned Ryanair as the most prepared airline for the post-Covid traffic recovery.  By keeping our crews current, and recruiting early, Ryanair avoided the crew shortages which caused so many competitor cancellations and disruptions in S.22. In Nov., following a strong H1 performance, Ryanair agreed to fully restore pay (28 months early) for over 95% of crews covered by new long-term pay agreements in the Dec. payroll.  We remain available to conclude agreements (on similar terms) with the tiny minority of unions representing less than 5% of our crews who have so far failed to reach agreement on accelerated pay restoration. 

Training:

As Ryanair grows traffic to 225m p.a. by FY26 our Group airlines will create thousands of high paid jobs for aviation professionals.  S.23 resourcing is well advanced with over 1,000 cadets enrolled in our pilot training schools and new cabin crew courses underway.  Ryanair Labs recently launched a campaign to recruit 150 IT professionals to our labs teams in Dublin, Madrid, Porto and Wroclaw. During FY23 we announced new engineering maintenance facilities in Malta, Kaunas (Lith.) and Shannon (Ire.) and expect to add further capacity in the coming months.  These new facilities will enable us to create more cadets and apprenticeships for young school leavers, bringing through the next generation of highly skilled aviation professionals.

CSAT:

Building on strong operational resilience and reliability during S.22 (despite numerous ATC delays/strikes and lengthy airport security queues – particularly in Q1), Ryanair continued to deliver industry leading service for our customers over the busy Oct. school mid-term and peak Christmas/New Year travel period.  This was reflected in Q3’s CSAT score which rose to 86% (83% for H1), with crew friendliness our top score (rated at 95%).

GROWTH:

Ryanair secured strong market share gains in key EU markets as we operated 112% of our pre-Covid capacity during the first 9 months of FY23.  Most notable gains were in Italy (from 26% to 40%), Poland (27% to 38%), Ireland (49% to 58%) and Spain (21% to 23%).  Our Routes team continue to negotiate traffic recovery growth deals with airport partners as competitors struggle to recover capacity (down as much as 20% this winter) and grapple with rising costs.  Up to the end of Q3, Ryanair has taken delivery of 84 B737 Gamechangers and we’re planning FY24 growth based on 124 new aircraft for peak S.23, although there is a risk (despite recent Boeing production improvements) that some of our Gamechanger deliveries could slip. Over 230 new routes (total 2,450 with 3,200 daily flights) have been announced for FY24.  With Asian tourists now returning and a strong US$ encouraging Americans to explore Europe, we’re seeing robust demand for Easter and summer 2023 flights.  We therefore encourage customers to book early on www.ryanair.com to secure the lowest fares as we expect these will sell out early.

Over the past 3 years, numerous airlines went bankrupt and many legacy carriers (incl. Alitalia, TAP, SAS and LOT) significantly cut their fleets and passenger capacity, while racking up multi-billion-euro State Aid packages.  These structural capacity reductions have created enormous growth opportunities for Ryanair.  These opportunities, combined with our reliability, lowest (ex-fuel) unit costs, strong fuel and US$ hedges, fleet ownership and strong balance sheet, ensures that the Group is well placed to grow profitability and traffic to 225m p.a. by FY26.

Q3 FY23 BUSINESS REVIEW:

Revenue & Costs:

Q3 scheduled revenue increased almost 85% to €1.45bn due to strong travel demand at higher fares (+14% over pre-Covid), especially during the Oct. mid-term and the peak Christmas/New Year holiday season.  Ancillary revenue delivered another solid performance, generating over €22.50 per passenger.  Total Q3 revenue rose 57% to €2.31bn.  Operating costs increased 36% to €2.15bn, driven by higher fuel costs (+52% to €0.90bn, offset by improved fuel burn as more Gamechangers enter the fleet), crew pay restoration and 24% traffic growth.  Ex-fuel operating costs rose by only 26%, marginally ahead of traffic and year to date unit costs (ex fuel) are just €30 per passenger.  Other income/expenses benefitted from a weaker US$ in Q3 reversing H1’s negative currency charge.

Our jet fuel requirements are 88% hedged at approx. $71bbl for the remainder of FY23 and H1 FY24 cover has recently increased to 60% at $90bbl (FY24: 57% at $92bbl).  Forex is also well hedged with over 80% of Q4 FY23 €/$ opex hedged at just under 1.15 and approx. 60% of FY24 at 1.08.  Our Boeing order book is fully hedged at €/$ 1.24 out to FY26.  This strong hedge position helps insulate Ryanair from spikes in fuel prices and gives our Group airlines a significant cost advantage over our EU competitors for the remainder of FY23 and into FY24.

Balance Sheet & Liquidity:

Ryanair’s balance sheet is one of the strongest in the industry with a BBB (positive) credit rating (S&P and Fitch) and €4.07bn gross cash at quarter end.  Almost all of the Group’s fleet of B737s are owned and c.96% are unencumbered which widens our cost advantage as interest rates and leasing costs continue to rise for competitors. Net debt at 31 Dec. was €0.96bn (from €1.45bn at 31 Mar.), despite €1.27bn capex.  Our focus over the coming year is the repayment of €1.60bn of maturing bonds (€850m in Mar. and €750m in Aug.) and funding peak capex while aiming to return our balance sheet to a broadly zero net debt position by April 2024.

OUTLOOK:

While bookings continue to be closer-in than in spring 2020 (pre-Covid), we have reasonable visibility for the remainder of FY23, with FY traffic guided at 168m.  Ryanair expects Q4 to be loss making due to the absence of Easter from March.  As announced on 4 Jan., we are guiding FY23 PAT (pre-exceptionals) in a range of €1.325bn – €1.425bn (previously €1.00bn – €1.20bn).  This guidance remains heavily dependent upon avoiding adverse events in Q4 (such as Covid and/or the war in Ukraine).”

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[1] Sustainalytics – a leading independent ESG & corporate governance research, ratings & analytics firm.

[2] Science Based Targets initiative – a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute & the Worldwide Fund for Nature.  It helps companies to set emission reduction targets in line with climate science & the Paris Agreement goals.

Ryanair, Europe’s no.1 airline, today (27 Jan) announced that it will reduce its Summer 2023 schedule at Vilnius by 30% – cutting 2 routes and flights on a further 11 routes – in response to Vilnius Airport’s illogical decision to increase its charges by 28% from 1^st Jan 2023.  

The Lithuanian Regulator’s decision to allow Vilnius Airport’s excessive 2023 price increase, despite objections from all the main airlines, has failed to protect passengers from the monopoly airport’s price gouging. This unjustified price increase is already damaging Vilnius’s tourism, connectivity, traffic and jobs as evidenced by these Summer 2023 cuts.   

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said: 

“We regret these which are caused solely by Vilnius Airport’s illogical decision to increase its charges by a whopping 28%, which makes flying to/from Vilnius more expensive and less competitive compared to the many other EU airports that are lowering prices to recover traffic lost during Covid or are freezing charges to stimulate passenger growth.  

Instead, Vilnius Airport has decided to increase its charges and damage local tourism, connectivity, traffic and jobs as evidenced by these cuts for Summer 2023. We call on the Lithuanian Regulator to review its decision and reject this illogical and excessive price increase or otherwise risk further damage to Lithuania’s connectivity.” 

Ryanair, Europas Fluggesellschaft Nr. 1, hat heute (26. Januar) ihren neuen Sommerflugplan für Hamburg mit 11 Strecken zu Sonnen- und Städtereisezielen wie Alicante, Dublin, London, Malaga und Palma de Mallorca sowie weiteren Flügen auf den Strecken Mailand, Edinburgh, Danzig und Zadar bekannt gegeben.

Hamburger Bürger/Besucher können jetzt auf Ryanair.com eine wohlverdiente Sommerpause buchen und die günstigsten Tarife von Ryanair genießen.

Annika Ledeboer, Ryanairs Country Managerin DACH & Nordics, sagte:

“Ryanair freut sich, den neuen Flugplan für Hamburg für den Sommer 2023 anzukündigen und Reisenden mit 11 Zielen von Hamburg, darunter Edinburgh und Palma de Mallorca, günstige Urlaubsoptionen anbieten zu können.

Mit unserem Family-Plus-Paket bieten wir jetzt die Möglichkeit, die Kosten für einen Urlaub aufzuteilen, indem die Hälfte des Preises jetzt und die andere Hälfte bis zu 40 Tage vor der Abreise gezahlt wird, was es für Familien einfacher macht, ihren wohlverdienten Urlaub zu planen.

Wir freuen uns darauf, unsere Kunden in diesem Sommer an Bord unserer Flüge von und nach Hamburg zu begrüßen, da Ryanair weiterhin mehr Verkehr, Konnektivität und niedrigere Flugpreise als jede andere Fluggesellschaft für Deutschland bietet.”

Ryanair, Europas Fluggesellschaft Nr. 1, kündigte heute (24. Januar) ihren bisher umfangreichsten Sommerflugplan für Wien mit 75 Strecken an, darunter drei neue Sommerrouten nach Kopenhagen, Helsinki und Tuzla, und erhöhte die Frequenzen auf weiteren 30 Strecken zu aufregenden Sonnen- und Städtereisezielen.

Ryanairs Sommerflugplan 2023 für Wien bietet:

– 19 stationierte Flugzeuge

– 1,9-Mrd.-Dollar-Investition in Wien

– 75 Routen inkl. 3 neuen nach Kopenhagen, Helsinki & Tuzla

– Erhöhte Frequenzen auf über 30 Sonnenschein-Routen, darunter Barcelona, Ibiza, Mailand, Rom und Venedig

– Unterstützung von mehr als 4.300 Arbeitsplätzen, darunter 570 hoch bezahlte Arbeitsplätze für Piloten, Kabinenpersonal und Ingenieure

Ryanair wird im Sommer 2023 mehr als 800 wöchentliche Flüge von/nach Wien anbieten (+10% Wachstum im Vergleich zum Sommer 2022) und damit österreichischen Kunden/Besuchern eine unschlagbare Auswahl an Flügen zu den günstigsten Preisen bieten, wenn sie ihren wohlverdienten Sommerurlaub 2023 buchen. Dieses unvergleichliche Wachstum – untermauert durch Ryanairs 1,9-Milliarden-Dollar-Investition in 19 stationierte Flugzeuge in Wien (über 570 direkte Arbeitsplätze für Besatzung und Ingenieure) – bringt Ryanair auf den besten Weg, die Lufthansa-Tochter AUA in den nächsten Jahren zu überholen und die größte Passagierfluggesellschaft in Wien zu werden.

Während Ryanair wächst und in Wien investiert, haben Konkurrenten wie Austrian Airlines und Wizz Air ihre Flüge reduziert. Wizz Air hat für den Sommer 2023 mehr als 20 EU-Strecken von/nach Wien gestrichen und ihren Betrieb in den Nahen Osten verlegt, wo er nicht mit der unschlagbaren Zuverlässigkeit und den niedrigeren Preisen von Ryanair konkurrieren kann. Neue Zahlen von Eurocontrol bestätigen auch, dass Austrian Airlines nur 84 % ihrer Kapazität vor Corona bedient, während Ryanair auf 115 % gewachsen ist.

In Wien sagte Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary:

“Ryanair freut sich, den Bürgern/Besuchern Wiens im Sommer 2023 eine noch größere Auswahl und günstigere Tarife bieten zu können. Unser Flugplan für den Sommer 2023 ist 10 % umfangreicher als im letzten Sommer, mit 800 wöchentlichen Flügen auf 75 Strecken, darunter drei neue Sommerdestinationen nach Kopenhagen, Helsinki und Tuzla. 

Mit diesem Wachstum und dem Rückzug von Austrian und Wizz aus Wien ist Ryanair auf dem besten Weg, die AUA (die Hochpreis-Tochtergesellschaft der Lufthansa, die trotz 300 Mio. Euro Subventionen vom österreichischen Steuerzahler immer noch viel höhere Preise von österreichischen Kunden/Besuchern verlangt als vor Covid) in den nächsten Jahren zu überholen, da Ryanair weiterhin wächst und in Wien und andere regionalen Flughäfen in Österreich investiert.

Zur Feier der drei neuen Wien-Routen von Ryanair für den Sommer 2023 starten wir einen Sonderverkauf von Sitzplätzen mit Tarifen ab nur 29,99 € für Reisen zwischen April und Oktober 2023, die bis Mitternacht am 26. Januar auf Ryanair.com gebucht werden müssen.”

76 WEEKLY FLIGHTS ACROSS 7 ROUTES

Ryanair, Europe’s no.1 airline, today (23 Jan) announced its new Kerry schedule for summer 2023, with 7 routes incl. popular summer hotspots like Alicante and Palma, as well as city break destinations like London, Manchester and Frankfurt.

With 7% more capacity than S22, Ryanair will carry over 350,000 passengers to/from Kerry Airport this summer, boosting tourism and connectivity for the region while supporting over 430 local jobs.  

Ryanair’s Kerry summer 2023 schedule will deliver:

– 7 routes

– 76 weekly flights

– 7% capacity growth on S22

– Increased frequencies on popular routes – Alicante & Manchester

– 350,000 passengers to/from Kerry

– Supporting over 430 local jobs

Kerry citizens/visitors can now book a well-deserved summer break enjoying Ryanair’s lowest fares to the widest choice of destinations, incl. these exciting 7 routes to/from Kerry for summer 2023, on Ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“Ryanair is pleased to announce our new Kerry schedule for Summer 2023, with 7 routes to the likes of Alicante, Faro and London, offering the people of Kerry and its surrounds even more choice for their summer holidays at the lowest fares in Europe.

We look forward to welcoming hundreds of thousands of customers/visitors onboard our flights to/from Kerry this summer as Ryanair continues to deliver more traffic, connectivity, and lower fares than any other airline.”