Ryanair Profits Surge After Fare Hikes

Budget airline Ryanair has reported a significant 34% increase in full-year profits, reaching €1.92 billion, driven by a 21% hike in average fares. This surge comes despite rising fuel costs and delays in the delivery of new Boeing planes, which have hampered the airline's expansion plans. 

Ryanair carried 183.7 million passengers over the year to March and anticipates potentially reaching 200 million customers this year if Boeing meets its delivery schedule.

The airline acknowledged risks associated with further delays, noting a shortfall of about 23 Boeing 737s expected by the end of July. Boeing's production issues have been under scrutiny since a panel failure on one of its aircraft in January contributed to a delivery slowdown.

Ryanair will receive modest compensation from Boeing for the delays, although it does not cover the full cost of adjusted growth plans. The airline has seen strong trading, with record activity last summer and robust traffic during Easter in March. However, these gains were partially offset by a dip in numbers at the end of last year due to the removal of Ryanair flights from several online travel agents.

Despite strong demand forecasts from competitors like British Airways owner AIG and EasyJet, Ryanair's summer bookings are ahead of last year, but fares are not as high as anticipated. 

The airline remains cautiously optimistic, expecting summer peak fares to be flat to modestly higher than last year. Ryanair did not provide profit forecasts for the current year, citing dependencies on avoiding significant adverse events such as geopolitical conflicts, air traffic control disruptions, or further Boeing delivery delays.