Ryanair profit tumbles as prices fall and Boeing delivery delays hit capacity

Ryanair’s half-year profit has fallen 18 per cent amid a dip in the average price of its ticket fares and ongoing Boeing delivery delays.

The budget airline reported a post-tax profit of €1.79bn (£1.5bn), even as passenger demand reached a record 115m, up nine per cent year-on-year. Revenue increased one per cent to €8.58bn.

However, average fares fell 10 per cent over the period to €52, down from €58 the year prior.

Such a dip had been forecast by chief executive Michael O’Leary in July, in a gloomy update which sparked a sell-off in a number of European airlines’ stocks.

Shares in Europe’s largest low-cost airlines have struggled this year despite soaring demand, amid a combination of supply chain issues, falling fares and air traffic control (ATC) problems on many major routes.

Ryanair issues warning after Boeing delays

Ryanair forecast full-year passenger numbers of between 198m and 200m, up eight per cent on 2024.

But it warned ongoing delivery delays at crisis-hit Boeing, where it placed a collosal order for 300 737 Max last year, had forced it to cut its outlook for 2026 from 215m to 210m.

In a statement, O’Leary said he expected European short-haul capacity to “remain cosntrained for some years,” citing delivery backlogs at Boeing and Airbus, long-running issues with Pratt and Whitney-manufactured engines and consolidation across the sector.

The airline chief said it remained “too early to provide meaningful” profit guidance for full-year 2024.

“The final FY25 outcome will be subject to avoiding adverse developments during the remaining 5 months of FY25, especially given the risk of  conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, repeated air traffic control (ATC) short-staffing and capacity restrictions, and/or further Boeing delivery delays.”