Yahoo Finance Ryanair ticket prices experience turbulence after spat with booking websites
Ryanair dimmed its profit forecasts for the year ending in March on Monday, after its margins were cut by increased fuel bills and a spat with online travel retailers.
The news came after online travel agents removed the Irish airline from their listings in early December. The move by sites such as Booking.com, Kiwi and Kayak led to Ryanair slashing prices on some flights in a bid to fill seats.
Ryanair bosses had claimed these platforms were scamming consumers by increasing flight prices and taking commissions on extras, like seat reservations. Both sides had threatened legal action and asked for intervention by regulators, with some cases making it to court.
A deal, agreed earlier this month, allows LoveHolidays customers to purchase flights, seats and bags as part of a holiday package, at Ryanair prices.
This followed a boom in profits for the airline in November, after it hiked prices. Ryanair had seen an 11% increase in the number of passengers to more than 100 million in the six months to September. This was despite fares ballooning by 24%.
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Fares were up 13% in the third quarter.
A Ryanair spokesperson said in a statement: "While we cannot give exact figures for the months ahead, we expect a modest increase of mid to high single digits for summer ’24."
The budget carrier reported after-tax profits slumped to €15m (£12.8m/$16.2m) for its third quarter to the end of December, from €211m (£180m) a year earlier.
The Irish airline said the group’s fuel bill surged by 35% to €1.2bn (£1bn), which outweighed a 17% rise in revenues.
Ryanair has also told Boeing (BA) that if any US customers refuse to take delivery of 737 MAX 10 aircraft, that it would buy them “at the right price”. Boeing has been mired in regulatory and safety concerns following the Alaska Airlines incident where a fuselage plug blew off an aircraft earlier in January.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, already has 150 firm orders for the MAX 10, the largest jet in the 737 family, and options for 150 more, with the first deliveries due in 2027.
Watch: Ryanair cuts forecast amid spat with travel agents
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