Ryanair CEO Warns of Historic Surge in European Airfares for 2027
Michael O'Leary predicts a potential 20% increase in flight prices due to rising fuel costs and reduced seat availability.
Holidays are expected to become significantly more expensive in 2027, with Europe's largest budget airline chief warning of the biggest surge in airfares in history. Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, anticipates that ticket prices could rise by as much as 20% over the next year.
O'Leary stated at a press conference in Brussels that European airfares are likely to increase by 10%, 15%, or even 20% in the coming 12 months. This forecast comes as airlines grapple with escalating jet fuel costs and a diminishing supply of available seats.
The conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted supply lines through the Strait of Hormuz, is a contributing factor to the rise in fuel expenses. According to O'Leary, most European airlines have minimal fuel cost hedging in place for the upcoming year. Ryanair, for example, has only hedged about 15% of its fuel costs for 2027 at $85 per barrel, while current spot rates are approximately double that figure.
The current jet fuel crisis is leading to a reconfiguration of the global aviation sector. Major European carriers are responding by either maintaining current capacity levels or reducing them, particularly ahead of the typically less profitable winter season.
Kenton Jarvis, CEO of easyJet, recently informed reporters in Brussels that his airline is removing between 600,000 and 700,000 seats from its winter schedule. Combined with earlier reductions this year, easyJet's total seat removal for the winter now stands between 1.3 million and 1.4 million. Jarvis noted that this capacity reduction is a trend observed across competitors as well.
Other airlines are also implementing similar measures. Ryanair announced in September that it would revise its 2027 traffic target downward to 214 million passengers from 216 million. The airline has also scaled back its winter schedule in Belgium, eliminating 20 routes and over a million seats in response to the country's planned increase in aviation tax from €2 to €7 per passenger starting in January.
Jet2 also indicated in early September that it would offer 200,000 fewer seats this winter.
"Fares for Ryanair passengers and every other passenger into the summer of 2027 are going to rise materially, I believe, because of significantly higher oil prices," O'Leary said in September. "I have no doubt fares are rising next year. The question is by how much."