Ryanair starts price war with 8% fare cut: Airline chief says he is planning 'very aggressive pricing' this winter – and expects others to follow suit
- Ryanair CEO is planning 8% fare cut as part of aggressive airline 'price war'
- Michael O'Leary said holidaymakers will enjoy cheaper flights this winter
- Families benefiting from rise in the value of the pound against the euro
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said he is planning 'very aggressive pricing' this winter
Holidaymakers will enjoy cheaper flights because of a price war among airlines, according to the boss of Ryanair.
Families are already benefiting from a 'spectacular' rise in the value of the pound against the euro, which has seen the price of holidays to Europe plummet.
Now Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said he is planning 'very aggressive pricing' this winter – and expects other airlines to follow suit.
He said that flights could be up to 8 per cent cheaper between October 2015 and March 2016 than in the same period the year before.
The average Ryanair fare is around £33.50 – so this would mean tickets would typically be around £2.70 cheaper, with bigger savings on more expensive routes.
Mr O'Leary said that fares are likely to fall as airlines pass on the benefits from the huge slump in the price of oil – which has fallen from $115 a barrel last summer to less than $54 today.
The airline is also considering offering cheaper tickets to help boost sales for the extra flights it is planning to run.
Ryanair carried 28million customers between April and June – up 16 per cent on the same period last year – and expects to carry a total of 103million passengers this year.
Mr O'Leary said: 'We expect competitors and Ryanair to use some of the benefits coming from lower oil prices to pass those on in the form of lower fares.'
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He added that Ryanair's price cuts 'may lead to an aggressive pricing response from competitors who will try to defend their market shares'.
Families have already seen the cost of their summer holidays tumble as the rise in the value of the pound against the euro has given them more spending power in countries across Europe.
The average Ryanair fare is around £33.50 – so this would mean tickets would typically be around £2.70 cheaper
The crisis in Greece helped to push sterling towards 1.44 euros earlier this month – its highest level since November 2007.
Everything from hotels and restaurants to car hire is cheaper than last year.
A 100-euro meal now costs around £72 compared with nearly £81 this time last year and around £89 in 2013.
And in a further boost to holidaymakers heading to the Continent, analysts believe the pound is now on course to reach 1.50 for the first time in more than eight years.
Ranko Berich, head of market analysis at foreign exchange company Monex Europe, said that the pound's rise against the euro 'has been nothing short of spectacular'.
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