Ryanair chief warns fares will rise for 5 years because flying is ‘too cheap’

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, the pioneer of low-cost travel in Europe, has warned fares will rise for the next five years because flying has become “too cheap” to make profits as industry costs spiral. His warning comes as ticket prices have risen in Europe and the US this summer as passengers return and some airlines cut capacity because of staff shortages. “It’s got too cheap for what it is. I find it absurd every time that I fly to Stansted, the train journey into central London is more expensive than the air fare,” he said. He said he expected a combination of high oil prices and environmental charges to push the average Ryanair fare up from E40 to between E50 to E60 over the medium term. O’Leary also fired a broadside at the British government and what he called “the disaster” of Brexit that had stopped airlines easily recruiting European workers, which the industry says has worsened staff shortages this summer. “This is without doubt one of the inevitable consequences of the disaster that has been Brexit,” he said. “Withdrawing from the single market, just so that they can say ‘We got Brexit done’ was the height of idiocy. But then they are idiots.” O’Leary turned Ryanair from a small regional carrier in the 1990s into the biggest airline in Europe by ruthlessly cutting costs, and passing these gains on to consumers through cheap ticket prices. “It has been my doing [making air travel cheap]. I made a lot of money doing it. But ultimately, I don’t believe air travel is sustainable over the medium term at an average fare of E40. It’s too cheap at that. But I think, you know, it will still be very cheap and affordable at E50 and E60.” Median fares from London to summer destinations in Portugal, Spain and Greece have all jumped compared with a year ago, although they are significantly lower than 10 years ago, according to data from Kayak.com. Prices from London to Athens, for example, have halved in the past decade.<br/>