Ryanair Adjusts Expectations Amid Declining Fares and Rising Costs

Ryanair, the original low-cost success story, is preparing for its 206 millionth passenger. This projection is for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. This figure is a modest increase from its previous goal of 205 million passengers. The airline managed a staggering 112 percent increase in passenger traffic. It increased by 9% to exceed an all-time high of 200 million passengers in fiscal year 2025.

In spite of this dramatic increase in passenger numbers, Ryanair was able to beat their fares down by 7% on average in the same financial year. The airline’s total revenue jumped by 4%, reaching €14 billion. Operating costs skyrocketed, increasing 9% to €12.4 billion. Strikingly, their operating costs actually stayed the same on a per-passenger basis, reflecting smart management practices despite increasing costs.

Ryanair recently reported an after-tax profit of €1.6 billion for the financial year 2025. This figure marks a decrease from the profit of €1.9 billion they made last year. The airline projected it would make up the majority of the fare falloff seen in 2022 and not all of it. As the industry faces challenges with fluctuating fares and operational costs, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, expressed confidence in the airline’s ability to navigate these turbulent waters.

“We are seeing robust travel demand across our network. This year our constrained capacity growth is being allocated to those regions and airports who are abolishing aviation taxes and incentivising traffic growth.” – Michael O’Leary

That’s right—Ryanair just opened more than 160 new routes for summer 2025. This somewhat surprising but smart strategy is a bid to take advantage of new market share and increased demand for travel. As of April 30, the airline’s fleet consisted of 181 B737 “Gamechanger” aircraft. Yet O’Leary insisted that these capacity constraints would be a breeze to handle, quipping,

“These capacity constraints, combined with our substantial cost advantage, strong balance sheet, low-cost aircraft orders and industry leading operational resilience will, we believe, facilitate Ryanair’s controlled profitable growth to 300m passengers p.a. by FY34.” – Michael O’Leary

Looking forward, Ryanair paints a picture of tight European short-haul capacity for several years out. Now, they’re feeling pretty bullish that the remaining 29 Gamechangers from their order will show up early.