Ryanair expects its loss for the just-ending financial year at around the middle of its forecasted range and is well placed for next year depending on traffic recovery and fares, its group chief executive said today.
Asked on the sidelines of an A4E airlines conference about Ryanair's loss forecast of €250-450m for the year to March 31, Group CEO Michael O'Leary told Reuters: "We think we'll be somewhere in the middle of that range".
Asked whether the year to end-March 2023 could see a return to pre-pandemic profits around €1.5 billion, he said: "There's a chance but it all depends on pricing. I mean, certainly our costs are reasonably robust for the next 12 months."
Michael O'Leary also said today he was prepared to skip a chance to buy Boeing 737 MAX 10 planes following a recent public dispute over pricing, but would meet the planemaker for further talks in April.
"We have to wait for Boeing to be in a kind of headspace for talking about MAX 10s," he told Reuters.
At the moment, they're dealing with a backlog of deliveries, 777 issues, design delays or certification delays on the MAX 10. They have a whole heap of problems," Michael O'Leary added.
"There are many times in my life that I missed the market, there's always that possibility. But you know, even if we have, we're very content where we are - we have 210 aircraft deliveries to take over the next five years," he said in an interview.
Boeing has said in response to previous criticism from Ryanair over the price of a potential new order for 200 jets that it is committed to supporting the carrier as a partner but will "continue to be disciplined" in commercial decisions.
