Ryanair aircraft at Stansted airport, northeast of London. The low-cost Irish carrier’s loss in the six months ended September 30 followed a profit of €1.15bn in the same period a year ago. AFP
Ryanair aircraft at Stansted airport, northeast of London. The low-cost Irish carrier’s loss in the six months ended September 30 followed a profit of €1.15bn in the same period a year ago. AFP
Ryanair aircraft at Stansted airport, northeast of London. The low-cost Irish carrier’s loss in the six months ended September 30 followed a profit of €1.15bn in the same period a year ago. AFP
Ryanair aircraft at Stansted airport, northeast of London. The low-cost Irish carrier’s loss in the six months ended September 30 followed a profit of €1.15bn in the same period a year ago. AFP

Ryanair swings to €196.5m loss as chief executive expects slump in winter demand


Alice Haine
  • English
  • Arabic

Ryanair reported a €196.5 million ($228.59m) loss in the first half of the fiscal year as its chief executive Michael O’Leary said winter air traffic in Europe could fall to 25 per cent of normal levels.

The Irish carrier’s loss in the six months ended September 30 followed a profit of €1.15bn in the same period a year earlier, as Covid-19 restrictions pushed passenger numbers down 80 per cent in the first half of this fiscal year.

The low-cost airline now expects losses to deepen further in the fiscal second half, as the winter brings fresh lockdowns across Europe amid rising coronavirus cases and air travel slows.

"I think the reductions [in air travel] will be greater. Probably a 60, 70, maybe 75 per cent reduction," Mr O’Leary said in a pre-recorded video presentation following the release of its financial results.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said 'lockdowns are a failure' in a TV interview on Monday. Reuters
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said 'lockdowns are a failure' in a TV interview on Monday. Reuters

Mr O’Leary said the airline would offer 40 per cent of its usual capacity this winter and said the figure would drop further depending on government restrictions across Europe. Prior to Covid-19, the company said it was on track for 150 million passengers across the full financial year, in line with the 149 million that flew with the carrier last year.

“Hopefully next summer we expect to operate over 2,000 routes but … our best guess at the moment is 38 million passengers but if there are continuing lockdowns and travel restrictions across Europe this winter, that figure may have to be lowered as well,” he said.

Covid-19 grounded the group's entire fleet from mid-March, as EU governments imposed flight or travel bans to help curb the spread of coronavirus. While Ryanair helped to repatriate customers and operate rescue flights during the crisis, it did not resume passenger flights until July 1 when it operated up to 60 per cent of its capacity in the second fiscal quarter,

The airline declined to forecast profit for the full financial year ending March 31 but said it expected a second-half loss greater than the first.

In a separate Bloomberg TV interview on Monday, Mr O’Leary said “lockdowns are a failure”.

“They should be avoided where possible. They’re only useful if you use the time to get your testing and tracing system in place.”

However, he said November may be the best month for country-wide lockdowns, as it falls between the half-term holidays of October and the festive season. Forward bookings for the month “were already terrible” he said.

Mr O’Leary said the company’s strong balance sheet will see the airline through “this unprecedented crisis” with this financial strength combined with its reducing cost base making the airline the “long-term winner” in the aviation industry.

The company said it had €4.5bn in cash at the end of September along with aircraft worth about €7bn. Its cash balance was further supported by a €250bn supplier reimbursement from Boeing in the July to September quarter.

Ryanair has yet to finalise terms with Boeing over the compensation for 18 months of delays linked to deliveries of the grounded 737 Max jet. It said it hoped to receive about 30 Max jets ahead of next year's peak summer season.

“Ryanair’s message in its half-year update was loud and clear: things are going to get worse for the industry – and itself – before it gets better," said Adam Vettese, analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro.

“Airlines have at least two more years of pain and struggle ahead of them and, not all of them will survive. Ryanair, on the other hand, has a very strong balance sheet and has €4.5bn sitting in reserve to see it through the crisis. It is also likely that the budget, short-haul end of the market will recover quicker, meaning carriers such as Ryanair will probably outperform their long-haul rivals throughout this crisis and beyond.”

Ryanair has only posted one annual loss in the past 30 years, in 2009 during the global financial crisis. It still managed to make a small profit in the summer of that year.

Lowest Test scores

26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955

30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896

30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924

35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899

36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932

36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902

36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020

38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019

42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946

42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

While you're here
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Asia Cup 2018 final

Who: India v Bangladesh

When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium

Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD

The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet

Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder

Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km

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Expo details

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
MATCH INFO

Norwich 0

Watford 2 (Deulofeu 2', Gray 52')

Red card: Christian Kabasele (WatforD)

Cry Macho

Director: Clint Eastwood

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam

Rating:**

SPEC SHEET

Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass

CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU

Memory: 4GB

Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD

Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio

Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video

Platform: Android 11

Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics

Durability: IP52

Biometrics: Face unlock

Price: Dh849

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: from Dh209,000 

On sale: now

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

Squads

Sri Lanka Tharanga (c), Mathews, Dickwella (wk), Gunathilaka, Mendis, Kapugedera, Siriwardana, Pushpakumara, Dananjaya, Sandakan, Perera, Hasaranga, Malinga, Chameera, Fernando.

India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.

The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km

Price: from Dh547,600

On sale: now 

The biog

Name: Mariam Ketait

Emirate: Dubai

Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language

Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown

Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Sanju

Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani

Rating: 3.5 stars

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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The bio

Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')

Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Spec%20sheet
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UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP

Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan

Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri

NBA FINALS SO FAR

(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)

Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109

Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109

Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123

Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105

Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106

Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland

Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)