Ryanair said Wednesday that a further deterioration in fares during the winter period could threaten the airline’s full-year guidance after slightly higher passenger numbers in the summer offset a sharper-than-expected drop in ticket prices. The airline last month reaffirmed its earnings outlook for full-year profit in the range of E1.375b (US$1.53b) to E1.425b, though it said it harboured risk. Ryanair expects to transport 117m passengers in the financial year ending March 31, up 1m from its initial projection. CE Michael O’Leary warned, however, that if fares in the October-through-March period fall more than the 10% to 12% projected, the target could be at risk: “If it gets worse than that we will have to adjust our full-year guidance.” O’Leary said fares in the April-through-September period are down 9%. <br/>
unaligned
Ryanair CE Michael O'Leary has called on the UK govt to be "radical" and approve the construction of new runways at London's Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted airports. O'Leary says that adding runways at all 3 locations would "finally resolve the runway capacity issue for the next 50 years, while ensuring [that] competition between airports delivers efficient facilities and prevents airlines and passengers being ripped off by gold-plated monopoly runways". The UK govt has yet to make a decision on where airport capacity can be added to serve the capital. The Airports Commission recommended that a new runway be built at Heathrow, rather than Gatwick, in its final report of July 2015. Ryanair meanwhile intends to add new routes from London Stansted to Strasbourg and from London Luton to Faro next summer. <br/>
With the US still stalling on awarding final approval for a foreign air permit to Norwegian Air International (NAI), the CEs of several top hotel chains and travel organisations have written directly to president Barack Obama urging immediate action. Twelve top executives of travel companies and organisations point out that NAI has waited more than 900 days for the US govt to take definitive action on its application—“a wait time that is inexcusable given that the US-EU Open Skies agreement demands that DoT act with ‘minimal procedural delay’.” Signatures on the letter include US Travel Association president and CE Roger Dow, Hilton president and CE Christopher Nassetta, Marriott president and CE Arne Sorenson, Loews Hotels president and CE Kirk Kinsell, and MGM Resorts chairman and CE James Murren. <br/>