Ryanair makes £1.1bn in add-ons
Baggage fees, priority boarding and other add-ons raked in £1.1billion for Ryanair in the past six months.
Called ‘ancillary revenue’, the figure soared by 27% over the key late spring and summer months and accounted for more than one in every £4 Ryanair generated in revenue.
“Key drivers of this growth were improved conversion of priority boarding and reserved seating,” the airline, run by Michael O’Leary, said in results out yesterday.
The added extras proved an important money-spinner for the Irish firm as competition forced it to cut its average fares by 3% in the six months to the end of September. The 27% surge was more than four times faster than the 6% growth in passenger numbers.
It came as a summer of strike disruption and rising fuel costs saw Ryanair’s half-year profits dive 9% to £1.1billion.
Ryanair said 2018 had been the worst year on record for strike action and staff shortages by air traffic controllers, particularly in France.