Christmas demand prompted Ryanair to up its profit forecast for its current financial year. File photograph: PA Most observers believe that Irish and other northern Europeans will once again flood south this summer while a strong dollar is likely to lure plenty of US tourists across the Atlantic.
The speed at which travel recovered caught many of Europe’s airlines and airports unaware in 2022. Security queues on the last Sunday in May led to about 1,400 passengers missing flights from Dublin Airport. Its operator, State company DAA, admitted that it had miscalculated likely demand for travel.
Part of the problem, the airline told politicians at the same committee hearing, was that ground handling companies around Europe had hired large numbers of inexperienced staff, many of whom were unfamiliar with the system for tracking misplaced baggage and redirecting it to its proper destination. This added to the overall confusion.
Aside from this, most experts believe a recession is looming. High energy prices, inflation and rising interest rates must take their toll. So far, that has not appeared to have hit 2023′s air travel prospects. Furlong notes that so far, this year looks set to be a good one. He likens it to an “Aldi-Lidl effect”. In the same way that during the last recession, shoppers switched from their normal supermarket to the discounters, travellers swapped more expensive airlines for Ryanair.
Ryanair has done deals on charges with Cork and Shannon that have enabled it announce new services from both recently. Wilson notes that Spain and Portugal have cut their airport charges by about 3 per cent. Similarly, in Italy, where airports are privately rather than state-owned, those costs have also come down.
Ryanair’s response is that DAA should focus on plans that will benefit passengers and boost the standard of service, and not on what it calls “gold-plated” projects. Both Wilson and O’Leary have singled out a proposed tunnel under one of Dublin’s taxiways that will cost €200 million as a particular example of this.