Ryanair CEO and one of Ireland’s richest men, Michael O’Leary, concluded that airfare was too cheap today and warned that airfare prices would rise over the next five years.
According to the head of the low-cost airline Ryanair, air tickets are too cheap today, and it will be impossible to contain the increase in air travel prices over the next five years.
To substantiate his forecasts, Michael O’Leary added that the reason for the rise in prices is primarily the rapid increase in the direct costs of the airlines themselves: rising fuel prices and now fashionable environmental fees.
At the same time, the boss himself and the part-time chief mathematician of the airline are in no hurry to raise prices. So, Ryanair offers flights from London to Milan for just £9.99. The return ticket costs the same. It turns out that a trip by train to the center of London is more expensive than an air flight between two far neighboring countries.
However, global airfares rose by 18 percent in April 2022, the biggest increase in 59 years, according to a U.S. study.
“The fact that I managed to put tickets on sale for 9.99 and at the same time remain profitable is my merit. I also made a lot of money doing it,” continues Michael O’Leary. “But ultimately I don’t believe that air travel can be sustainable in the medium term with an average fare of 40 euros. It was too cheap. But I think that even an increase in prices to 50 or 60 euros per ticket will not change the picture. It will still be very cheap and affordable.”
In general, it is not yet very clear how to resolve the contradiction, in which, on the one hand, the country needs inexpensive air travel to develop the tourism industry, and on the other hand, airlines and airports are suffocating due to rising costs and job cuts.