More airlines will face bankruptcy if oil prices remain at their current high levels, the chief executive of Ryanair
said in a newspaper interview published in Lisbon today.
'There are many companies which said they were already losing money when a barrel of oil cost $25. In the meantime they have gone under,' Michael O'Leary told daily Publico paper, giving Swissair and Belgian national carrier Sabena as examples.
'Now a barrel costs $50,' he added. 'I have no doubts that there will be more losses, more bankruptcies.'
Earlier this month Ryanair, which has not brought in the fuel surcharges many of its rivals are imposing to offset high oil prices, posted a forecast-beating 15% rise in first-half profits to €201.3m.
O'Leary has said Ryanair, unlike many other airlines, could still post a profit even if oil reaches $75 a barrel because fuel makes up just 15% of its costs.
Oil prices tumbled to the lowest level for almost two months today, sinking below $47 in New York as fears of a winter supply squeeze receded, although analysts say the tendency is for prices to remain high.
Ryanair also said today that it will start flying twice a day from London to Oporto, Portugal's second-largest city, in January. It is the airline's first regular serive to Portugal. O'Leary said the airline could add new routes from Oporto to other European cities if the flights to London prove popular.
