Ryanair expects a higher fuel bill this year but that higher average fares and a 20% increase in passengers would provide some relief from soaring oil prices, according to a senior executive of the company.
Chief Financial Officer Howard Millar told Reuters that the company would continue expanding aggressively, with up to three new bases planned in Europe this year and a deal was close to introducing in-flight gambling.
Millar said that the airline, whose protection from soaring oil prices runs out this week, faced another challenging year with fuel set to account for 38% of total costs.
'Our view will be that we will pretty much stay where we are. Fares will rise a bit, fuel prices will be up a bit and we should sustain some kind of reasonable margin,' Millar told a Reuters news forum in Dublin today.
He said that next year fuel will account for around 38% of the airline's cost base.
Millar said Ryanair would not resume hedging fuel costs until the oil price fell well below $60 per barrel. He said the airline expected a similar pattern to last year when it entered the busy summer season unhedged and relyed on higher average fares to offset the damage.
