Labour strife is starting to weigh on Ryanair, and the conflict looks set to deepen. The discount airline posted a 20% drop in Q1 profit Monday, and warned that walkouts by trade unions, along with regional air traffic-control strikes, are making customers wary of booking trips. While the carrier was able to accommodate passengers whose flights were canceled during recent disruptions by Irish pilots, “the real impact is going to be on uncertainty in relation to the forward booking curve,” CFO Neil Sorahan said. The executive also said he’s “a little bit more pessimistic on fares” than in May after they dropped in the latest reporting period. The Irish airline has cancelled 16 flights on Tuesday ahead of looming strikes by pilots in its home market, and 600 flights Wednesday and Thursday as Spanish, Portuguese and Belgian flight attendants walk out. Germany’s Vereinigung Cockpit pilot union is also holding a vote on possible strike action, with the outcome due later this month. This summer’s disruptions mark the first major industrial action the budget carrier has seen, after it agreed to accept unionization in the face of a staffing crunch last year. The carrier kept its full-year profit outlook, but said the guidance is “heavily dependent” on fares this quarter, strikes by crew and air traffic-controllers and other wild cards such as Brexit. Fares fell 4% during the period ended June 30, and the pricing environment remains weak, Ryanair said. Hesitation on the part of customers to book is feeding into a drop in prices, just as fuel costs rise and the Irish carrier shells out for 20% pay increases already granted to pilots.<br/>
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Ryanair Monday said it expected Austrian holiday airline Laudamotion, which it agreed to buy earlier this year, to post annual losses of E150m, up from an earlier estimate of E100m. The Irish airline, which said it plans to increase its stake in Laudamotion to 75% from 25% in the coming weeks after securing regulatory approval, blamed the higher loss on factors including lower-than-expected summer fares due to the late release of Laudamotion schedules this summer. "Next year it will get its schedules on sale much earlier, so it won't have the issues with last minute discounting," CFO Neil Sorohan said. "We will help it out with its fuel hedging and I would expect it to break even towards the back end of year 3." Sorohan said Ryanair would consider other acquisition opportunities, but said Ryanair's key growth would be through organic growth. Laudamotion also faces "substantial cost headwinds" in fuel as it does not hedge, Ryanair said.<br/>
Myanmar-based FMI Air has suspended flights until the company completes a restructuring program. FMI Air has become the latest airline in Myanmar to suspend passenger operations. The privately owned airline ceased scheduled services July 20 and will stop all charter flights after July 23. The Yangon-based airline operates two ATR 72-600s and two Bombardier CRJ200s, serving six destinations in Myanmar. “Operating in Myanmar’s aviation sector has become increasingly challenging and, after much deliberation, we have decided to temporarily suspend the operations of FMI Air,” the airline’s chairman U Thein Wai said. He added that the airline would undergo restructuring and make changes to its operating model to meet market demands; it will relaunch in the future depending on conditions. FMI Air is the third Myanmese airline to suspend operations recently.<br/>