Ryanair Suffers First Profit Drop In 5 years – Is It Time To Listen To Customers?

Ryanair Suffers First Profit Drop In 5 years

The low-cost Irish carrier has reported that Ryanair’s profits for the first half of this fiscal year fell by 7% to $1.38 billion. With this, Ryanair suffers first profit drop in 5 years following several publicity nightmares and strikes.

“As recently guided, H1 average fares fell by 3 percent,” Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, said in a statement. “While ancillary revenues performed strongly, up 27 percent, these were offset by higher fuel and staff costs.” Ryanair also blamed repeated strikes and staff shortages in 2018 caused it to be the most disruptive year on record for European aviation. “These have caused widespread damage to airline punctuality and schedules, with Ryanair’s H1 on-time [performance] falling to 75 percent from 86 percent in the previous year.”

Additionally, rising oil prices have also inflated Ryanair’s fuel bill, negatively affecting profits. The carrier spent nearly $1.5bn on fuel in the first half of 2018, an increase of 22% from the previous year.

Aside from the all too common European strikes, which as we all know happens far too much, and higher oil prices, you might recall our story from this past weekend where a black woman was harassed by a racist seat mate and Ryanair failed to properly act and protect the woman’s dignity and safety.

Source: Deutsche Welle