Ryanair has set its sights on package holidays in its fight to attract more tourists.
Michael O’Leary, the airline’s chief executive, has long opposed selling package holidays, saying it would be a distraction from the company’s main goal: dominating short-haul travel in Europe.
But Mr O’Leary revealed this week that he would review the situation once Ryanair had achieved the maximum possible growth thanks to the expansion of its fleet of Boeing aircraft.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: “I wouldn’t rule out creating a holiday division.
‘The vacation product is probably a reasonable way to charge higher fees and returns and bundle it into a package.’
This comes after the airline reported in July that its profits had fallen by almost 50 percent this summer.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said he would review the situation once Ryanair had achieved as much growth as possible from the expansion of its Boeing fleet.
Ryanair mulls package holiday launches as it battles to attract more tourists (File photo)
Price-conscious customers delayed booking summer holidays with the budget airline, saying this had contributed to a 46 per cent drop in its profits to €360m (£303m) compared with the previous year.
Average airfares fell 15 per cent to €42 (£35) and Ryanair’s typical fare in June was €41.93, down from €49.07 a year earlier.
Meanwhile, rivals easyJet and Jet2 have been reaping the rewards of package holidays this year, highlighting the value of a package deal for customers.
Mr O’Leary added that accommodation in Spain, Italy and Greece has become more expensive, which may have pushed more people to opt for package holidays.
He told The Telegraph that easyJet Holidays had been “reasonably successful” since its relaunch in 2019 under chief executive Johan Lundgren.
However, the Ryanair boss said Easyjet had been forced to make the decision because of its focus on airports such as London Gatwick and Paris Charles de Gaulle, where operational slots are expensive and hard to come by.
Mr O’Leary praised Jet2’s operations but said there were “very few seat-only or scheduled services” and “they have no presence outside the UK”.
Despite falling profits, Ryanair’s passenger numbers rose 10 percent to 55.5 million, causing its total revenue to fall just 1 percent to €363 billion.
Passenger numbers are expected to rise by 8 percent this year.
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