Ryanair carrying on price war despite drop in numbers

The low-cost airline Ryanair has vowed to carry on with their price competitions with rival airlines despite saying they now expect to make profits of only between €200 and €300 million and the yearly yield will be less than the 20 per cent drop they originally forecast.

They plan to pass on the lower cost of fuel and other items to their customers in an effort to win business from competitors.

“Traffic growth is strong but at much weaker yields due to the recession and the impact of tourist tax in Ireland and the UK. We have limited visibility beyond the next two months, but expect passengers to be very price sensitive for the rest of the year,” said chief executive of Ryanair Michael O’Leary.

The first quarter of this year saw Ryanair profits jump from €21 million to more than €136 million because of the large drop in oil prices. They also welcomed an 11 per cent increase in passenger numbers but say that was masked by the 13 per cent drop in the average price of a flight.

The airline have also stated that they are ready to move 16 planes from Stansted Airport after higher passenger tax and airport charges are introduced.

Thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk for the above quote, for more information on this article please visit their website.