Ryanair has reported another year of record profits and passenger numbers as the industry continues to benefit from the post-pandemic surge in demand for air travel.
The no-frills airline has this morning reported a 34% increase in profits to £1.64 billion for the year to the end of March, surpassing its previous record of £1.26bn during the year to March 2018. Passenger numbers were 9% higher at 184 million despite an average increase of 21% in fares from the previous year.
The group said it could have carried 200 million passengers in the current year but has been hampered by delays in the delivery of B737 aircraft from Boeing. Ryanair hopes to have 158 B737s in operation by the end of July which would be 23 short of contracted deliveries.
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Boeing has been beset by delays amid scrutiny over safety at its manufacturing sites after a door blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet in mid-air in January. Ryanair said there remains "a risk that Boeing deliveries could slip further" which would hamper passenger growth, but the Irish carrier is "working closely" with Boeing to improve quality and accelerate deliveries.
Ticket prices at Ryanair this summer will be "flat to modestly ahead of last summer" but recent pricing has been softer expected. Ryanair had previously forecast fares would rise by up to 10% for summer 2024.
The company also announced that former UK home secretary Amber Rudd will join its board of directors as a non-executive from July 1.
Ms Rudd was energy and climate change secretary under David Cameron and then served as home secretary for nearly two years under Theresa May, before resigning in 2018 in relation to the scandal over the mistreatment of the Windrush generation of migrants to the UK. She did not seek re-election in 2019 and has since been working for public relations companies.
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