Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary considers entering package holiday market

Ryanair’s chief executive is considering launching a package holiday arm akin to that of its low-cost rival Easyjet.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Michael O’Leary said he would review the situation once Ryanair had squeezed as much growth out as possible from the increased size of its fleet.

“I wouldn’t rule out setting up a holidays division. The holiday product is probably a reasonable way of charging higher fares and yields and for wrapping it into a package,” he told the paper.

Easyjet has had immense success from its package holiday division, Easyjet Holidays, since it launched just five years ago. The business has become a major player in the sector in its own right and is forecast to bring in pretax profit of over £180m in 2024.

Yorkshire-based Jet2, the third largest airline in the UK, also offers package holidays to its customers.

O’Leary said there was “some truth” to the idea all-inclusive holidays have proven especially popular this year.

“Accommodation in the Canaries, Spain, Italy, Greece, has been appreciably more expensive, and that has maybe pushed more people into these kinds of holiday packages,” he said.

The Irish executive’s comments come as Ryanair looks to quell fears that a fall in airfares over the winter months will hit flight revenue.

The budget carrier sparked a sell-off in airline stocks in July when it revealed a sharp drop in quarterly profit and forecast “materially lower” airfares over the peak summer period.

Ryanair said on Wednesday fares would likely be down around five per cent in the second quarter between July and September, less than first thought.