Ryanair has released that Q3 scheduled revenues increased 345% to €0.79 billion as traffic recovered strongly from 8.1 million to 31.1 million guests (at an 84% load factor). Despite a strong start to Q3, especially the school’s mid-term break in October, the Omicron-variant and return of travel restrictions in early December, significantly damaged (higher yielding) close-in Christmas and New Year bookings. Average fares in Q3 were just €25 (down 24% on the same quarter pre-Covid). Ancillary revenue delivered a solid performance, generating €22 per passenger (+8%), as guests choose priority boarding and reserved seating. Total revenues increased by over 330% to €1.47bn in Q3. Ryanair reported third-quarter net loss of €96 million compared to €321 million net loss in Q3 2020.
While sectors more than doubled (+220%) and traffic rose 286%, operating costs increased by just 136% to €1.59bn, driven primarily by lower variable costs such as airport & handling, route charges and improved fuel burn as more Gamechangers enter the fleet (offset by the higher cost of jet fuel). Lower costs, coupled with rising load factors, saw unit cost per passenger in Q3 (ex-fuel) reduce to €32, an excellent performance. (£1.00 = $1.13 at time of publication)