Travelles won’t see cheap air fares of €10 or less in the coming years, thanks to soaring fuel costs, according to the chief executive of Ryanair.
The budget airline’s average fare will rise from about €40 (£33.75) last year to roughly €50 over the next five years, Michael O’Leary told the BBC.
However, he believes that travellers will continue to fly frequently, despite the rising cost-of-living pressures.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s no doubt that at the lower end of the marketplace, our really cheap promotional fares – the one euro fares, the €0.99 fares, even the €9.99 fares – I think you will not see those fares for the next number of years.
“We think people will continue to fly frequently. But I think people are going to become much more price sensitive and therefore my view of life is that people will trade down in their many millions.”
He said Ryanair had managed the situation at airports this year – where staff shortages have led to delays and cancellations – better than many rivals, as the carrier had started recruiting and training cabin crew and pilots last November.
O’Leary said he was “hopeful” the problems at UK airports would be resolved by next summer but said Brexit could continue to create challenges when recruiting staff.