In brief

• Ryanair is considering temporary pay freezes, fewer crew on flights and more use of AI to offset higher fuel costs.
• The airline forecasts its fuel bill to rise by €2bn in the financial year ending March 2028 and expects fares to climb by up to 20% next year.
• Pre-tax profit fell 16% to €2.4bn in the six months to September, mainly due to fuel costs.

Pay freezes and staffing

Ryanair is considering temporary pay freezes for its staff as part of a wider cost-cutting programme aimed at covering a sharp rise in fuel costs (Ryanair may freeze workers' pay as fuel prices spike – BBC News). The airline is also looking at reducing crew numbers on flights and expanding its use of artificial intelligence (Ryanair considers pay freezes and reducing crew on flights as fuel costs soar – The Guardian) (Ryanair: Kerosinkosten drücken Gewinn der Billigfluggesellschaft – Sparprogramm angekündigt – DER SPIEGEL).

Fuel bill and fares

Fuel spending in the financial year ending March 2028 is expected to come in €2bn (£1.6bn) above prior levels. Ryanair expects jet fuel prices to stay elevated well into 2027 unless the conflict in the Middle East is resolved quickly. European short-haul fares are expected to rise by up to 20% next year, but higher ticket prices alone would not cover the full cost increase, the airline says.

Profits fall

The airline's pre-tax profit fell 16% to €2.4bn over the six months to September, driven mainly by higher fuel costs. Net profit in the second fiscal quarter fell 6% to €1.6bn, and the first-half decline reached 15%. About 80% of the fuel bill was hedged, meaning bought in advance at fixed prices, but the cost of the remaining share has doubled.

Other measures and union response

The BBC contacted Unite, the union that represents Ryanair employees, for comment.