IT’S an airline that stood the test of time since it was founded by a group of Irish businessmen in 1984 – despite the tricky headwinds and turbulence it has had to navigate throughout its colourful history.

For no-frills airline Ryanair, its performance for the first quarter of 2024, from April to June, will have disappointed the Dublin-listed group although it is hardly surprising, given the timing of Easter this year and the fact that would-be travellers and holidaymakers are keeping a close eye on their finances.

The budget carrier said its profits after tax dipped sharply by almost half in its first quarter, as cost-conscious passengers reined in their spending.

It reported profits of €360 million (£303 million) in the quarter, 46% lower than the same period last year, despite passenger numbers rising 10% to 55.5 million and missing analysts’ expectations.

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The group’s earnings fell to €401m (£338m) in the three months to June 30 compared with the same period last year and the results drove the share price down 12.5% in early trading on Monday.

While Europe’s largest airline cautioned that fares this summer would be “materially lower” than last year as it looks to further discounting to entice passengers who are coping with rising inflation and the cost of living – the average fare in the first quarter fell 15% to €42 (£35) year on year – it offers people waiting until the last minute to book a break away the opportunity of a good deal.

The group’s famously outspoken chief executive Michael O’Leary said the airline is operating its largest-ever schedule this summer with over 200 new routes and five new bases “as we deliver as much low fare growth as possible for our passengers and airport partners in FY25”.

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And in his typical no-nonsense style, he took aim at air traffic controllers across Europe, stating: “In the last 10 days of June, we suffered a significant deterioration in European ATC capacity which caused multiple flight delays and cancellations, especially on first wave morning flights.”

Looking ahead to FY25, Mr O’Leary said he expected passenger traffic to grow 8%, from 198 million to 200 million passengers, subject to no worsening Boeing delivery delays. In his statement, he said the group would receive 20 fewer Boeing Max aircraft than scheduled for its peak summer season, down from a backlog of 23 forecast in May.

The performance of the rest of the first half, Mr O’Leary stressed, was “totally dependent” on last-minute bookings, particularly in August and September, which aligns with the ongoing effects of the cost of living crisis.

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And final FY25 outcome also remains subject to “avoiding adverse developments, especially given continuing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, repeated ATC short staffing and capacity restrictions, or further Boeing delivery delays”.