Ryanair to raise fares after profits dip amid Italy abuse fine

Ryanair is to raise its fares following a fall in quarterly profits after being fined by Italy’s competition watchdog for abusing its market position.

The budget airline posted pre-tax profits of €24.4 (£21.2m) for the three months to December, an 83% drop from the same period the previous year.

But the company remained confident saying it expected passenger numbers to grow by 4% to almost 208 million this year. It expects average fares to increase by between 8% and 9% this year, more than the 7% it predicted in November.

In December, the Italian regulator fined Ryanair €256m (£222m) for “abusing its dominant position” by blocking travel agencies’ access to its services.

Releasing its quarterly results on Monday, Ryanair said it had appealed the Italian fine, calling it “baseless”.

At the time of the ruling, the Italian Competition Authority said the company had “put in place an elaborate strategy” making it harder for online and traditional travel agencies to buy Ryanair flights through its website.

It said the airline’s strategy blocked or hindered purchases, or made them “economically or technically burdensome”, particularly when flights were combined with services from other airlines or with tourism and insurance products.

The airline said it was “confident” the fine would be overturned on appeal.

Ryanair made headlines last week after boss Michael O’Leary rejected the idea of using Elon Musk’s Starlink technology to provide Wi-Fi on flights.

It resulted in an online spat between the two leaders, which the firm said had led to a slight rise in bookings, thanking Musk for the publicity.

O’Leary said on Monday that full-year net profit could reach as much as €2.23bn (£1.9bn).

But he said this forecast “remains exposed to adverse external developments” including the possibility of conflict escalation in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Ryanair is aiming to grow passenger numbers to 300 million by 2034.

Ryanair’s $40bn (£31bn) contract with Boeing will see 300 new aircrafts – 737-MAX 10 – delivered to the company by March of that year. The airline is one of Boeing’s largest customers.

The first 15 planes are expected to be in service in spring 2027.

The MAX-10 model is more fuel efficient and has 21% more seats than the airline’s fleet of 737 Next Generation planes.