26 February 2024 , 10:40
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Brits are being warned that finding cheap flights could become increasingly difficult in the coming year.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary told reporters at the airline's headquarters that the aviation industry may struggle to meet demands following a limited number of planes for European firms.
Mr O'Leary said that with less aircraft, Ryanair might expect 200 million passengers instead of 205 million passengers by March 2025, reports the Express.
He explained: "That probably means that even our growth this year is going to be constrained in Europe, and I think that leads to a higher fare environment across Europe for summer 2024."
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has issued a warning for UK travellers (Corbis via Getty Images)The aviation boss added: "Fares in summer 2024 are going to be up again on summer 2023. Our average air fares in summer 2023 rose 17 percent. We don't think we'll see that kind of double-digit fare increase this year. We're doing our budgets based on a fare increase of 5-10 percent, which to me feels kind of reasonable. It could be higher than that, it could be lower than that, we don't really know. If capacity was growing, I think fares would be falling."
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The airline is reportedly waiting for new planes from manufacturer Boeing although it's not yet clear if they will get as many as they hoped.
However, it may not all be doom and gloom for UK travellers hoping to snap up holiday deals. Earlier this year, one business pro told the Mirror that there could be good news regarding the price of plane tickets in the years ahead.
Travel pro Peter Boolkah explained: "With more of the big airlines like Qatar and Virgin Atlantic sending more planes up into the sky and increasing routes prices will come down and already have in my experience."
"The business behind airlines is simple. Post Covid, airlines restricted their supply chain by putting fewer flights on. Instead, it was cheaper to keep the planes on the ground and drive prices up for those who needed and wanted to access air travel."
He added that in recent years, airlines have been trying to recoup those post-Covid losses with the likes of increased fares, but that aviation firms are now starting to increase routes and capacity, suggesting that they're also ramping up their marketing campaigns to get more people holidaying, while also actively recruiting pilots and flight attendants.
He predicted that "air travel should be significantly cheaper if it carries on this way", especially as airlines compete against each other with enticing prices.
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