Ryanair warns of ‘fragile’ recovery as Ukraine war and Covid push it to loss

theguardian.com:

Ryanair has warned of a “fragile” recovery in airline passenger numbers after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Omicron coronavirus variant pushed it to a €355m loss for the financial year.

The Irish airline said it would aim for a “return to reasonable profitability” over the financial year to March 2023, it said on Monday, after it lost €1.4bn (£1.2bn) during the first two pandemic-affected financial years.

Airlines have been hanging on for the return of passengers following two years of travel restrictions. There were high hopes for significant earnings in the 2022 summer holiday season after many countries lifted bans on tourism, but the knock-on effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine plus staffing difficulties have clouded airlines’ prospects.

Michael O’Leary, the Ryanair chief executive, said “we hope to return to reasonable profitability” in the coming year and highlighted “pent-up demand” despite uncertainty. The “recovery is strong but can be fragile,” he said. “With luck we’ll have a strong summer.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant “immediately damaged close-in bookings and yields for the Christmas and Easter peak travel periods”, O’Leary said.

Ryanair’s revenues tripled to €4.8bn in the year to 31 March 2022 compared with the first year of coronavirus lockdowns. The airline is planning to fly 165 million passengers in the current financial year, up from 97 million in the year to March and an increase even on its peak of 149 million passengers in the years before Covid-19.

Yet the company said that ticket pricing in the current financial quarter “continues to need stimulation” with lower prices to attract more customers. Airlines’ ability to attract customers at higher