Irish airline Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, confirmed this Thursday that higher fuel prices would bring the era of “ultra-cheap” tickets and “promotional fares” to an end.
“We won’t see them again for several years,” the director warned BBC Radio 4, referring to prices of between €1 and €10 for the flight the company has been publishing over the past two decades.
According to O’Leary, the average price of Ryanair tickets will increase by about €10 over the next five years, from €40 last year to €50 in 2027. “There’s no doubt we won’t see our really cheap promotions, Tickets at 1 euro, 99 cents or 9.99 euros,” stressed the president of Europe’s leading airline in the low-cost segment.
And although he attributed this change to the rise in energy prices, which also affects the purchasing power of citizens, he is confident of the stability of the number of passengers. In this context, O’Leary thought consumers would “flock” to low-cost airlines such as Ryanair or EasyJet itself.
“I think people will continue to fly more frequently. But I think they will be more price conscious, so millions of users will switch[to low-cost airlines],” O’Leary said.
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