Ryanair, the Irish low-cost carrier, saw a considerable loss of €185 million ($216 million) for the first quarter of its financial year. The decline comes as the airline carried just 500,000 passengers across the quarter, down from 41.9 million in the same period last year.
Ryanair’s optimistic outlook is fueled in part by the net loss of €185 million being substantially smaller than previously forecasted €232 million, yet the airline is cautious about the expectations of annual profit.
“It is impossible to predict how long the Covid-19 pandemic will persist, and a 2nd wave of Covid-19 cases across Europe in late autumn (when the annual flu season commences) is our biggest fear right now,” stated the report
In another stroke of optimism Ryanair lays out its view of COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to grow its network, expanding into empty space left by other, less fortunate airlines. Adding to that, usual lashing out against “illegal state aid” – bailouts to other airlines that have received aid from their respective countries – is present in the report.
The company also places a lot of hope into Boeing 737 MAX, expecting renewal of deliveries in late-2020 while calling the long-grounded aircraft a “gamechanger”. Such an expectation comes in contrast to other airlines shrinking their MAX orders due to the pandemic.
Source: aerotime.aero