Record Breaking Year for Ryanair with Over 200 Million Passengers in 2025
In its latest financial year, Ryanair, an Irish headquartered airline, has set a new record for any European carrier by flying over 200 million passengers. This achievement was accompanied by a 7% decrease in fares compared to the previous year. The airline reported a revenue of €13.95bn, which is a 4% increase, while operating costs rose by 9% to €12.39bn.
Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, attributed the record-breaking year to lower fares that stimulated demand. He also mentioned that the absence of a full Easter holiday in the first quarter, consumer spending pressure, and a decrease in online travel agent bookings before summer 2024 led to repeated price stimulation throughout the year. Despite these challenges, the demand for summer 2025 is strong, with peak fares showing a modest increase compared to the previous year.
Ryanair is cautiously optimistic about the second quarter, with expectations of recovering some of the 7% decline in fares experienced in the same period last year. However, the final outcome for the first half of the financial year is heavily dependent on close-in bookings and peak summer yields, with zero visibility for the second half of the year.
One of the major challenges faced by Ryanair is the repeated delays in the delivery of new B737-8200 “Gamechanger” planes from Boeing. Out of the 618 aircraft fleet, Ryanair has only received 181 of these new, more efficient planes, out of a total order of 210. The delays have severely restricted the airline’s growth, with only a 3% increase in passenger numbers expected this year.
To address this issue, Ryanair is working closely with Boeing to accelerate deliveries and is confident that the remaining 29 Gamechangers will be delivered before summer 2026, allowing the airline to catch up on delayed traffic growth by 2027. Furthermore, Ryanair has placed an additional order of 300 Boeing MAX-10 aircraft, which are expected to be delivered between spring 2027 and March 2034, with a goal of reaching 300 million passengers.
The delays in deliveries are not limited to Boeing, as Airbus, another major aircraft manufacturer, is also facing challenges with their deliveries. This has led to capacity constraints for other European airlines, including those that rely on Airbus planes.
In other news, Ryanair has lifted the temporary restriction on non-EU investors buying ordinary shares, which was put in place to ensure the airline met the required 50% threshold of EU ownership. This move allows both EU and non-EU nationals to invest in Ryanair through ordinary shares listed on Euronext Dublin and depository shares listed on Nasdaq in New York.
On the other hand, Howard Millar, a long-time director and former CFO of Ryanair, has announced that he will not seek re-election at the upcoming AGM and