Ryanair is cutting winter destinations — and warns more may be to come

REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

• Ryanair is cutting flights to some winter destinations and
  removing aircraft as labor strikes led the company to slash its
  full-year profit forecast by 12%.
• The airline has had to lower its fares in the third quarter
  as bookings— particularly for the October
  school mid-term holiday
  and Christmas — and customer
  confidence are affected by fear of further strikes.
• Ryanair trimmed its winter capacity by 1 percent,
  removing aircraft from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, and
  Bremen and Niederrhein in Germany. It says more
  disruptions and cuts to flight destinations may be
  possible.
  
• Ryanair “experienced interference in negotiations with
  our people and their unions” in Spain, Portugal, Germany,
  Holland, and Belgium

Ryanair is cutting flights to some winter destinations and
removing aircraft as labor strikes led the company to report a
bleak full-year profit forecast. 

Ryanair, the largest low cost-carrier in Europe, said it
suffered a fall in its flight traffic which hit revenue, due to
September strikes from pilots and cabin crew across Europe in
September. The budget airline trimmed its winter capacity by 1
percent, removing aircraft from Eindhoven in
the Netherlands, and Bremen and Niederrhein
in Germany.

The airline has had to lower its fares in the third quarter as
bookings— particularly for the October school
mid-term holiday and Christmas — and
customer confidence are affected by fear of further
strikes. Because winter flights are often operated at
a loss, Ryanair says more disruptions and cuts to flight
destinations may be possible. The company also said it couldn’t
rule out another lowered profit outlook.

Since recognizing unions in late 2017, Ryanair said it has made
“substantial progress” in talks in major markets including
Ireland, the UK, and Italy.

“Regrettably, such progress has been impeded in Spain,
Portugal, Germany, Holland, and Belgium where we’ve experienced
interference in negotiations with our people and their unions,”
the company said in a
statement. 

The strikes led to higher re-accommodation costs, while rising
oil prices also hit the airline. Profit for the year
is now expected to be between 1.1-1.2 billion euros (£2 billion)
compared with the earlier forecast of 1.25-1.35 billion euros, a
12% drop, the Dublin-based airline said.

Shares of Ryanair plunged 8.8% on Monday.

But the company said that most flights will continue as normal.

“All affected customers have been contacted by email/SMS this
morning and will be re-accommodated on other flights or refunded
as they so wish,” Ryanair said.

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