LONDON – Ryanair has announced a reduction in its full-year losses by around €660m, as passenger numbers increase by a staggering 253%.

The airline posted a full-year loss of €355m, which is an improvement from €1.015bn in losses it recorded in the same period last year.

Passenger numbers have increased rapidly to 97.1 million, from 27.5 million, indicating that recovery is more or less there for the carrier.

The Irish low-cost carrier was also able to increase its load factor from 71% to 82%, with revenues jumping from €1.64bn last year to €4.80bn.

Reducing Emissions Is The Next Push…

Michael O’Leary, the GCEO of Ryanair, commented on the results, offering the view that reducing emissions will go hand-in-hand with increasing passenger numbers.

“Every consumer who switches to Ryanair from EU legacy airlines can cut their CO₂ emissions by up to 50% per flight.”

“Over the coming 5 years, we expect our traffic to grow by 50% to 225m p.a.  This growth will be delivered at lower fares but on a fleet of new B737 “Gamechanger” aircraft, which offer 4% more seats, yet burns 16% less fuel and reduce noise emissions by 40%.”

Ryanair aims to power up to 12.5% of its flights using Sustainable Aviation Fuels by the end of this decade through the partnership signed with Neste to power up to one-third of its flights from Schiphol.

Demand Is On The Up But More Work Is Needed To Be Done…

Whilst demand is on the up ahead of the Summer 2022 season, more work is needed to continue the successes seen so far in 2022.

Peter Knapp, an expert commentator on the aviation industry and Group Chairman of Landor & Fitch expanded more on this to AviationSource:

“After a torrid two years of on-off travel restrictions and skyrocketing fuel prices, we’re now seeing real glimmers of recovery on the horizon for international travel. Recent financial results from the likes of Ryanair, Norwegian Air, and IAG point towards optimism.

“But as demand finally ramps up, we’ve seen some airlines struggling to respond: delays, IT issues and staff shortages have all made headlines. 

“Appealing to this eager customer base is essential. As people look ahead to their summer holidays, airlines will need to look at how they best take advantage of the rush – re-asserting their brand and differentiating their offer against competitors.”

“In what is likely to be an increasingly aggressive market the effective use of branding to help maintain customer loyalty and attract new passengers will be more important than ever before.

“It’s likely that low-cost carriers are best placed to take advantage; they’re set up to be leaner, more efficient in their operations, and more agile from a brand perspective.”

“Legacy carriers may struggle to appeal to consumers who want a quicker and more engaging experience at a good value.”

“It’s crucial that airlines have a creative brand strategy at the center of what they do – not just to appeal to current demand, but also build a strong foundation for the future in these uncertain times.”

Overall…

Ryanair still has work to do in order to return to profitability.

If the Summer 2022 season goes well for them, as well as having a successful winter season as well, then this could come around as early as next year.

With the airline’s ambitious plans of serving 225 million passengers per year in the next five years, the Irish low-cost carrier has clear plans for how it is going to achieve that.

All eyes are now on O’Leary and his airline to see what the performance will be like moving forward.