Ryanair’s net profit doubles in Q1 FY2026 due to strong traffic, fare growth 

Ryanair’s net profit more than doubled in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 as traffic grew by 4% to 58 million passengers, with fares rising by 21%. 

In its financial results published on July 21, 2025, the airline announced a significant increase in its net profit, which rose to €820 million in the first quarter of FY2026, up from €360 million during the same period last year. 

Ryanair’s total revenue increased by 20% to €4.34 billion. Revenue from scheduled flights increased by 26% to €2.94 billion as traffic grew by 4% with 21% higher fares. Meanwhile, ancillary revenue grew by 7% to €1.39 billion. 

“Q1 fares substantially benefitted from having a full Easter holiday in April 2025, weak prior-year comps and marginally stronger than expected close-in pricing,” said Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary. 

As of June 30, 2025, the airline had €4.4 billion in cash after spending €0.6 billion on capital expenses and repaying €0.4 billion in debt, the financial report continued. 

New aircraft, new routes 

In Q1 of FY2026, Ryanair received five new Boeing 737-8200 ‘Gamechanger’ aircraft, a high-density, passenger-focused variant of the 737 MAX 8. The airline currently has 181 Boeing 737 MAX 8 in its total fleet of 618, an increase of 25 since June 2024. 

“We remain confident that the 29 remaining Gamechangers in our 210 orderbook will deliver well ahead of summer 2026, when we hope to recover this year’s delayed traffic growth into FY27,” O’Leary said. 

The airline added that it anticipates the Boeing 737 MAX 10 to be certified by late 2025 and intends to start receiving the first 15 aircraft in spring 2027, with a total of 300 jets expected to be delivered by March 2034. 

Ryanair noted that it will run more than 2,600 routes this summer, including 160 new ones, as the airline is experiencing “strong summer 2025 travel demand” across its network. The airline noted it is focusing on “regions and airports which are cutting aviation taxes and incentivising traffic growth”. 

“We believe European short-haul capacity will remain constrained for the next 5 years to 2030 as the big two Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) remain well behind on aircraft deliveries, many of Europe’s Airbus operators work through Pratt & Whitney engine repairs and EU airline consolidation continues,” O’Leary stated. 

What’s next for Ryanair? 

The airline announced that its FY26 traffic is expected to increase by only 3%, reaching 206 million passengers, due to significant delays in Boeing deliveries. 

The carrier mentioned that the final results for the first half of FY2026 are “heavily dependent on the strength of close in August and September 2025 bookings.”  

Ryanair also stated that it is still too early to give guidance for FY26, but it expects to recover nearly all of the 7% decline in fares from the previous year. 

“The final FY26 outcome remains heavily exposed to adverse external developments, including the risk of tariff wars, macro-economic shocks, conflict escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as European ATC strikes, mismanagement and short staffing,” O’Leary concluded. The post Ryanair’s net profit doubles in Q1 FY2026 due to strong traffic, fare growth  appeared first on AeroTime.

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