Ryanair has reported record annual profits of €1.92 billion, marking a 34 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
The low-cost airline transported 183.7 million passengers in the year ending March 2024 and anticipates this figure will rise to between 198 and 200 million for the fiscal year 2025. However, this growth is contingent on Boeing meeting its contracted delivery schedule before the end of the year.
Ryanair aims to expand its Boeing 737 Max fleet to 158 aircraft by the end of July, although this will still be 23 aircraft short of contracted deliveries. The airline has plans to eventually take delivery of 210 of its “Gamechanger” aircraft and has also placed an order for 150 737 Max 10s, with deliveries scheduled to commence from 2027.
Despite delays in Boeing deliveries forcing a reduction in its summer schedules earlier this year, Ryanair will operate its largest-ever summer schedules in 2024, featuring over 200 routes and five new bases.
Additionally, Ryanair announced the appointment of former UK home secretary Amber Rudd as a non-executive director, effective 1 July.
Commenting on the results, Ryanair’s group CEO Michael O’Leary stated: “We expect European airline consolidation to continue, with the takeovers of ITA (Italy) and Air Europa (Spain) progressing and the sale of TAP (Portugal) next. This, along with A320 fleet groundings and a significant backlog in OEM aircraft deliveries, is likely to constrain capacity growth in Europe for some years.
“These capacity constraints, combined with our significant cost advantage, including FY25 fuel hedge savings of €450 million, a strong balance sheet, low-cost aircraft orders, and industry-leading resilience, will, we believe, underpin a decade of profitable growth for Ryanair as we grow to 300 million passengers by FY34.”
Ryanair’s strategic expansion and fleet upgrade plans highlight its resilience and ambition to solidify its position as a leading player in the European aviation market.