Ryanair Group has warned that a recent trend of softer-than-expected pricing could continue through the summer on the back of shaky leisure demand in western Europe. Reporting profit after tax of €1.92 billion ($2.09 billion) for the year to end-March – a 34% increase – the low-cost carrier nonetheless notes that recent fares have been “softer than we expected”, as prices have been slashed to stimulate sales. Despite limited forward visibility, the Irish airline says it remains "cautiously optimistic" that summer fares will be "flat to modestly ahead" of last year. "We are surprised on [weak] pricing," group chief executive Michael O'Leary said during a results webcast. Ryanair had expected peak-season fares to rise around 5-10%, but this was hit by the early timing of Easter, which impacted performance into April and then continued into June. Although fares are rising for the later July-September period, the increase looks to be in the lower range of 0-5%. The recent decision by online travel agents to withdraw Ryanair flights from their sale platforms may play a role in this, O'Leary acknowledges, although he is "unsure they have the volumes" to make much of a difference. Following the signing of deals between Ryanair and individual OTAs, sales from these platforms are now starting to come back. He places greater emphasis on a "recessionary feel" to trading, as the market experiences generally weaker demand and "resistance" from consumers. "[Pricing] could go either way," says O’Leary. "It might weaken further." He adds that Ryanair has seen sales surge when it stimulate bookings, and believes it is in a stronger financial position than rivals to adopt this strategy. "We are going to be aggressive on pricing," he vows. "We will lead that trend." Although the change represents a deterioration on the company's previous expectations, it comes in a post-pandemic world of generally higher pricing, with a 20% year-on-year rise over the past two summers. This means that the company can continue to expand its market share without compromising on yields. City destinations have performed stronger than leisure routes. Weakness is concentrated in core western and southern European markets such as the UK and Germany to Spain, for example. In central and eastern Europe, as well as new markets such as Albania, it has been stronger. Expectations for an 8% increase in passenger numbers in the current year – to 198-200 million – are "subject to Boeing deliveries returning to contracted levels before year-end", adds Ryanair. It believes it will have around 20 fewer aircraft than contracted through the peak summer period, deliveries having been pushed later in the year. Although the jets, when they arrive, will enable the airline to boost its volumes, they will miss the peak flying season, so their impact on revenues and profit will be more muted. Across the wider market, because of the groundings of Airbus aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney geared turbofans for enhanced checks, plus the issues at Boeing, "we expect capacity in Europe to be constrained" going forward, notes O'Leary. Across its full financial year to end-March 2024, Ryanair Group saw revenues rise a quarter to €13.4 billion. It carried 183.7 million passengers at a load factor of 94%. Costs rose 24% to €11.4 billion, driven by a 35% rise in the fuel bill.

Wideroe chief executive Stein Nilsen has resigned from his position. The carrier says Nilsen will continue in the role until a replacement is found by parent company Norwegian. Nilsen took over Wideroe in 2015, and the airline notes that employee numbers have since gone from 1,450 to 3,500. Prior to joining Wideroe, he was a consultant with Credo Partners, an investment company based in Oslo, and was head of ground services for SAS. Norwegian completed its takeover of Wideroe in January.

Bahrain-based Gulf Air has agreed a three-year deal with Swissport for ground-handling and cargo services at Geneva airport for its flights to and from Manama Bahrain, via Milan Malpensa. Swissport will support the airline's twice-weekly flights during the summer season, says the Swiss ground handling firm. Swissport Geneva has also renewed its ground handling contract with Saudia and EgyptAir for another three and two years, respectively, while Kuwait Airways has extended its ground handling and cargo handling contracts with Swissport for a further two years.