Ryanair lowers profit guidance as row with Booking.com and surging fuel costs hit margins
The low cost airline said its fuel bill surged 35 per cent in the third quarter, while labour costs are also putting pressure on margins
Ryanair has lowered its profit guidance for its 2024 financial year due to the ongoing legal row with online travel agencies such as Booking.com, which it said will negatively impact passenger numbers and profitability.
Announcing third quarter results on Monday morning, the aviation giant said it now expects to deliver a profit of €1.85 billion to €1.95 billion, which is lower than its previous forecast that profits could reach €2.05 billion.
Ryanair said the reduced guidance was due to weaker load factors and passenger yields during December and January after a host of online travel agencies, including Booking.com and Kayak, removed all links to Ryanair flights from their websites late last year amid an ongoing legal dispute between the airline and what it describes as “pirate” websites that allegedly scrape content off its website.
