If you’re preparing to fly the friendly skies, you might want to do it with Ryanair. This low-cost airline had a 25% hike in profits recently and passenger numbers up 16%. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary promised that the airline would use the first half performance “to pass on very aggressive pricing so that we fill 15 per cent capacity growth in the second half instead of 10 per cent.”
They have been working hard to change their image which has, up until now, included having sneaky fees. Their profits rose to €245million for the first three months of 2015, up from €197million a year earlier. The airline said that it expects its profits for the year to March 2016 to be at the upper end of their predicted €940million – €970million issued in May. They also predict that their annual passenger figures will move from the predicted 100million to 103million.
Michael O’Leary said, “We are pleased to report strong growth and profits in Q1. Our mix of low fares, best on time performance and enhanced customer experience under our new “Always Getting Better” programme, continues to attract millions of new customers.”