ROME, Sept 17 (Askume) – Ryanair (RYA.I) has seen booking momentum improve since August and demand for prices cut, Chief Executive Michael O’Leary told Askume on Tuesday, but he also said profits were likely to rise this year.
He also cautioned that he did not believe Boeing would be able to deliver the airline’s next big plane order, the Max 10, on time, but he remains optimistic.
After announcing a 15% annual drop in airfares for three months till the end of JuneRyanair shares fell sharply in July , fueled by concerns about a weak summer performance among European airlines.
He said prices in the three months to the end of September would be 5-9% lower than the same period last year, with signs of improvement already visible in recent weeks.
“We have to offer huge discounts to meet our load factor targets. I think bookings will pick up from August and we will have to offer lesser discounts.”
“We believe there will be a trend towards smaller discounts rather than bigger discounts in September, October and November.
O’Leary said Aer Lingus was making “very good profits” but admitted that despite an 8% increase in traffic “traffic this year is probably going to be a little bit lower than last year”.
Ryanair shares rose after his comments, which also boosted rival European airlines.
Asked about the strike by more than 30,000 workers in the United States at aircraft maker Boeing Co, he said he expected supply delays although he was confident an agreement to end the strike could be reached “within the next three or four weeks.”
Ryanair, Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, has firm orders for 150 of the Max 10s, the largest jet in the 737 family, plus options for a further 150 planes with the first deliveries due in 2027.
He said Boeing told Ryanair it expected the Max 10 to be certified in the second half of 2025 and that he was “optimistic but lacking confidence” in the timeline.
O’Leary said Ryanair has no intention of occupying its remaining slots at Milan’s Linate Airport in order to maintain a competitive partnership with state-owned ITA and Lufthansa .
He noted that Ryanair hopes to achieve strong growth at Milan’s main airport Malpensa, which is far from Milan, especially if easyJet (EZJ.L) wants to move its operations to Linate.
