Ryanair's O'Leary warns of ‘dramatically higher’ air fares next summer

Airline chief raises prospect of higher fares as fewer seats will be available

Ryanair plans to cut prices this winter, in a bid to grab market share from competitors. Reuters
Powered by automated translation

The chief executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has said that air fares will increase as passengers rush to take holidays in Europe next summer.

He predicted that huge demand would coincide with fewer flights, meaning a price rise for travel and accommodation.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr O’Leary said: “I think there will be a dramatic recovery in holiday tourism within Europe next year. And the reason why I think prices will be dramatically higher is that there’s less capacity.

“Take out Thomas Cook [six million seats], Flybe [eight million seats], Norwegian [nearly 24 million seats] – Alitalia’s reducing its fleet by 40 per cent.

“There is going to be about 20 per cent less short-haul capacity in Europe in 2022, with a dramatic recovery in demand.”

Ryanair prices will be cut this winter, to “grab market share everywhere”, Mr O’Leary said.

Updated: September 12, 2021, 9:56 PM