Ryanair returns to profit as fares jump

Budget hose Ryanair has reported its archetypal nett since the pandemic arsenic fares and rider numbers rebounded.

The carrier's profits deed €1.43bn (£1.24bn) successful the twelvemonth to March, with mean fares up by 50% to €41.

However, the hose warned its substance costs were acceptable to leap successful the adjacent twelvemonth owed to precocious lipid prices.

Ryanair brag Michael O'Leary said existent fares were "significantly" higher than a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile request was deed by Russia's penetration of Ukraine.

Aviation adept John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, told the BBC's Today programme that fares could summation adjacent more, with a household of 4 seeing costs emergence by "another £20 oregon £30".

However, helium said these rises were improbable to enactment radical disconnected travelling.

"If you speech about, let's say, a 10% summation oregon adjacent a 15% oregon 20% increase, we're lone talking astir a fewer pounds, possibly five, six, 7 successful accrued costs," helium said.

"While that's not nothing, I don't judge that's going to beryllium a showstopper successful presumption of demand."

Ryanair saw rider numbers rebound by 74% to 168.6 cardinal past twelvemonth arsenic the request for question continued to recover.

The airline, which is owed to run its biggest ever docket of flights this summertime with 3,000 regular flights, is expecting to instrumentality transportation of 300 caller Boeing craft by 2037.

Mr O'Leary said request to question this summertime is "robust and highest summertime 2023 fares are trending up of past year".

Despite the precocious substance costs, helium said helium was "cautiously optimistic" that this would beryllium covered by higher revenues, delivering a "modest year-on-year nett increase".