Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has warned strong demand for international travel and increased prices this summer “can’t’ continue”, saying demand for travel “is not insatiable”.
Speaking in London on Wednesday, Ryanair Group chief executive O’Leary reported bookings for October, November and December are “4%-5% ahead of last year and fares are a little ahead”.
But he added: “It’s fairly sensitive. We’re seeing people booking earlier at slightly higher fares [year on year], but we’re not sure whether that will continue.
“We’re cautious going into the winter. We had a such a strong recovery, but people are struggling with the cost of living. The economy is not in a good place here [in the UK].”
O’Leary noted bookings remain strong in most markets across Europe but described demand from UK airports as “a little weaker, with the exception of London”.
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Ryanair is due to report results for the three months to the end of September next month, but the carrier reported passenger numbers up 11% year on year in the April-to-June quarter and an increase in the average fare of 42% amid “robust demand”.
However, reporting those results, O’Leary noted “a softening in close-in fares in late June and July”.
Looking back on Wednesday, he said “people prioritised a holiday in the summer”, with “very strong demand at very strong prices” during July to September with fares up [year on year] by a single-digit figure”.
But he argued: “That can’t continue. The laws of economics are the laws of economics. Demand for travel is not insatiable.
“People’s mortgages are under pressure. People are under pressure from higher interest rates. Everything points to a dip in consumer confidence and discretionary spending and that feeds into demand for flights.
O’Leary said: “We expect to have to stimulate demand [this winter].” He added: “It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for us to be stimulating travel with some aggressive pricing.”
The Ryanair chief repeated his call for the sacking of the head of UK air traffic control body Nats, Martin Rolfe, and hit out at “internet pirate” online travel agents (OTAs) for “screenscraping” the carrier’s flights.