Ryanair expects the number of passengers to fall by 60% for the entire financial year, and sees the crisis as a great opportunity to strengthen its position.
As expected, Ryanair incurred a loss of 185 million euros in the first quarter of its financial year, earning 243 million euros last year for the same period from April to June. At the same time, the company announced a very strong financial position: it has less than four billion euros in its accounts.
It follows from today published results. Ryanair transported only half a million people in June, which is related to the shutdown of aircraft due to a pandemic. Ryanair’s shipping numbers show that even the reduction in ticket prices will not fill the plane: occupancy reached only 61% in June, otherwise Ryanair will fly with more than 90% full aircraft in the long run.
Ryanair called the current period the most challenging in its history. In its report, the carrier stated that by the end of July, it would reimburse passengers for 90% of all canceled flights. Ryanair did not forget in its report to investors complain to Kiwi.com servers, which, according to him, delayed the process of refunding tickets.
Ryanair claims to emerge from the crisis as a long-term winner. He also proves this by the state of his balance sheet: he has 3.94 billion euros in his accounts, a little more than the carrier had at the end of March. The company wants to use the next months to further accumulate cash, and plans to sell the seven oldest Boeing 737-800s. The company also used the British government’s program for large companies to help in the coronavirus crisis. In a presentation for investors, the carrier complained that the governments of individual countries are helping the airlines, calculating the total support at 30 billion euros. In many cases, he wants to challenge the help in court. “Illegal state aid will lead to offering tickets at a level below cost,“Ryanair added in the report.
The largest European airline expects to reach about 60% of last year’s traffic in August and 70% in September. It still expects to take over the 737 MAX 200 aircraft at the end of the year. For the whole financial year, he expects a drop in the number of passengers by 60%. But Ryanair wants to take advantage of other carriers’ problems for further expansion.
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