Ryanair lifts passenger traffic goal as Boeing handovers improve

[DUBLIN] Ryanair expects to exceed its passenger growth target for the full year, as the airline continues to receive aircraft early from Boeing, and demand for travel remains strong.

The Irish budget carrier predicts more than 3 per cent growth in the fiscal year of 2026 to 207 million passengers, up from a previous forecast of 206 million.

Profit after tax rose to 1.72 billion euros (S$2.58 billion) in the second quarter from 1.43 billion euros the previous year, the company reported on Monday (Nov 3).

The improved passenger goal is a sign of progress at Boeing, which has struggled to deliver planes on time, limiting growth prospects for Ryanair, its biggest customer in Europe.

Ryanair was among the most vocal critics of Boeing, as the delivery delays forced the carrier to cut its passenger traffic goal several times in the past year.

“It’s humming along nicely, things are going well, quality is very good,” chief financial officer Neil Sorahan said of the Boeing deliveries in an interview.

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More recently, Ryanair’s executives reported progress at the planemaker, saying last month that the carrier received aircraft at a more steady tempo.

The remaining six Max 8 aircraft from its order book will be delivered “well ahead” of next summer, allowing traffic growth to reach 215 million next year, Ryanair said.

Certification of the new Max 10 is scheduled for mid-2026, and Boeing expects to meet Ryanair’s contract delivery dates for the first 15 models in spring 2027.

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While Ryanair said it is too early to provide “meaningful” profit guidance for the full fiscal year, the company expects to recover last year’s 7 per cent fare decline in its entirety and achieve “reasonable” profit growth for the year. 

At the same time, the company said that while third-quarter forward bookings are “slightly ahead”, fare growth will be more challenging because of difficult comparisons with the same period a year prior.

Ryanair also announced an interim dividend of 0.193 euros (S$0.29) a share, payable in late February.

Shares of Ryanair have jumped about 37 per cent so far this year, in comparison with low-cost rivals EasyJet and Wizz Air, which declined 14 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively. BLOOMBERG