In the context of a sharp rise in prices for energy carriersaccelerated by the war in Ukrainecheap airfare days by ten Euro gone, warns head of low-cost airline Ryanair Michael O’Leary.
“I think there will be no more ten euro tickets, because oil prices are much higher after Russia invaded Ukraine. Our really cheap deals (…), I don’t think we’ll see prices like that again in the coming years“, he said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 today.
Over the past twenty years, low-cost carriers such as the Irish Ryanair or its British competitor Easyjetstirred up air travel and cracked the pricing system, fueling a surge in short trips, mostly weekend trips.
According to O’Leary, average Ryanair ticket prices are expected to rise over the next 5 years from €10 to around 50 euros per itinerary.
This, given the many low-cost airline surcharges, mostly for luggage, could quickly add hundreds of euros to the total cost of a return flight, sapping demand.
However, Michael O’Leary wants to believe that the demand for air travel will continue and that “low cost” carriers will be able to handle it. Today he also spoke out against Brexit, which has significantly reduced the access of European workers to the UK, where they previously held hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“The labor market is very tight, especially for unskilled jobs in the hospitality and catering sectors, distribution and agriculture, as well as security and baggage handling at airports,” the head of Ryanair said.
“And if there was an ounce of integrity in[outgoing Prime Minister Boris]Johnson’s government, they would admit that Brexit was a disaster for the free movement of workers. And that one of the main problems facing the British economy at the moment is a shortage of workers,” he added.
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