Ryanair bosses have said people are booking their holidays early this year as they predict airline fares will rise. The company has recently announced their profits soared due to increased booking over the Christmas and New Year break.
On Monday, the company announced sales have risen 57 percent, with Ryanair reaching profits of £185 million for its third quarter.
The company has reported record profits despite the cost of living crisis and has said their early booking indicates a “strong” summer ahead.
Neil Sorahan, the finance chief officer of Ryanair, said: “Based on current booking profiles, we think that fares will rise into Easter and the summer.”
Ryanair said that a strong US dollar and border restrictions being lifted may have enticed more people to book holidays.
Mr Sorahan has said that families are using the money they saved up during the pandemic and lockdown to avoid paying heavier fares later on in the year.
He said: “I’m not seeing the cost-of-living crisis at this point in time.
“There is high employment, people do have annual leave, and they are getting pay increases. And so they are very keen to travel.
“People want to get out. I think they are also aware that prices will likely rise in the summer and they just want to lock [the price of a] holiday away.”
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The CEO said he believes prices may rise in percentage to “the high single digits” compared to prices last year, and also added that discounted tickets will not return “for the next year or two”.
Mr O’Leary added he believes the large booking numbers are due to people deciding to “crimp and save” to “protect their holiday”.
He said: “One of the things that has emerged out of Covid is the annual holiday, or the second holiday, or the week in the sun, is no longer being considered by many to be a luxury that we can drop.”
