Ryanair was one of the many airlines impacted during the recent Microsoft outage that led to several flight cancellations and airport issues on 19 July.
SRyanair’s first quarter results for the financial year 2025 results have revealed lower profits and a dampened summer fare guidance for shareholders.
The company recorded a profit of €360 million for the quarter, considerably lower than the €530 million expected by analysts. This was also well below the €663 million seen in Q1 financial year 2024.
The number of customers grew 10% to 55.5 million in June 2024, up from 50.4 million in June 2023, however, this was considerably offset by lower than expected air ticket prices this quarter.
Average fares dropped 15% from €49.07 in June 2023 to €41.93 million this June. Operating costs also increased 11% from €2.94 billion in June 2023 to €3.26 billion in June 2024. Revenue also inched down 1% from €3.65 billion in June last year to €3.63 billion in June 2024.
Ryanair warned that summer fares were likely to fall this year, with unit costs also expected to increase slightly. This is mainly due to expenses such as productivity and pay rises, as well as increased air-traffic control (ATC) and handling fees.
Furthermore, Boeing delivery delays are still weighing on the company, as well as geopolitical conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle Eastern tensions. ATC shortstaffing has also had a significant impact on the company, due to flight cancellations and delay.
Michael O’Leary, chief executive officer (CEO) of Ryanair Group said in the earnings press release: “Ryanair is Europe’s number one rated airline for environmental, social and governance (ESG) by Sustainalytics. Our new aircraft and increasing use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has positioned Ryanair as one of the EU’s most environmentally efficient major airlines.
“Recently proposed EU legislation confining the monitoring of aviation’s non-CO2 impact to only intra-EU flights (yet again exempting long haul flights, which account for the majority of EU aviation emissions) is indefensible and undermines the EU’s green agenda and credibility. We call on the EU Commission to adopt a ‘polluter pays’ principle and to end the indefensible exemption of polluting long-haul flights from EU environmental regulation.”
Microsoft outage leads to Ryanair woes
Along with several other airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines, WizzAir, SpiceJet, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia amongst others, Ryanair was also hit due to the Microsoft outage on Friday 19 July.
This led to the airline facing check-in delays and issues for several flights, with Ryanair asking passengers to try to come to the airport at least three hours before their flights.
Ryanair recently announced a partnership with Expedia Group which will now be offering a range of standalone flight bookings or packages through Ryanair. Customers will have access to their Ryanair accounts through Expedia without needing to go through Ryanair’s customer verification process.
Regarding this partnership, Susan Spinney, senior vice president for Trips Partnerships at Expedia Group said in a press release: “This marks a significant step in our partnership with Ryanair. Earlier this year, we collaborated on ‘Ryanair Rooms’ allowing Ryanair travellers to seamlessly book a hotel alongside their flight.
“Soon Ryanair flights will be available directly on Expedia Group’s marketplace, expanding the way travellers’ benefit from this powerful combination. Ryanair’s extensive network of budget-friendly flights together with Expedia Group’s comprehensive travel offerings, creates an unbeatable value proposition for travellers seeking affordability and convenience.”
