Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said: Flight ticket prices “It’s very cheap and it will need to go up over the next five years in order for the airlines to remain competitive.”
Ryanair, the world’s leading low-cost airline, has, under O’Leary’s leadership, introduced cheap tickets that made air travel available to millions, while squeezing profit margins for full-service airlines.
In an interview with the Financial Times, O’Leary said higher oil prices and higher environmental fees would push the cost of a Ryanair ticket to between 50 and 60 euros ($52 to $62) from 40 euros currently.
“The company has made a lot of money with cheap prices…but in the end, I don’t think air travel is sustainable in the medium term with an average ticket price of 40 euros,” he added.
O’Leary said oil prices are likely to remain high, because it will take a few years before “we can wean ourselves off Russian oil and gas,” he said.
He said the Irish airline’s fuel costs should be stable at least for the rest of the year, as it has hedged the majority of future fuel at $65 a barrel. The price of a barrel of crude oil is near $110 a barrel.
