Europe's largest airline warns of rising ticket prices

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, will not be able to maintain high demand due to low ticket prices. With the rising cost of oil and, as a result, the cost of aviation fuel, ticket prices in the summer of 2027 will be increased by 15-20%, said the head of the Irish airline Michael O’Leary in an interview with Reuters.

“We’re optimistic about the future, but there are a lot of short-term issues — most notably the question of how things will turn out for Trump and the Republicans in the midterm elections in November,” he said.

However, a few days earlier, O’Leary assured that the airline does not intend to impose a “fuel levy”, despite the increase in prices for jet fuel, but said that competitors Ryanair plan to apply to this measure next summer.

“I very much hope that jet kerosene prices will continue to rise next year, as it will accelerate the bankruptcy process of other airlines,” he said, adding that he expects competitors to raise tariffs by 10-20% next summer.

He also predicted further consolidation of the European air travel market amid high costs. According to O'Leary, it involves four major players: British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and Ryanair.

The aviation industry faced fuel shortages amid the US war against Iran. In addition, due to the rise in crude oil prices, the cost of gasoline, diesel and aviation kerosene also increased. During the crisis, many airlines began to abandon some routes. In May, the Financial Times reported that global airlines had reduced the number of seats by 2 million in two weeks due to concerns about fuel availability.

In early August, the head of the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air, Jozsef Varadi, said that the aviation industry showed extreme instability in the second quarter of 2026 due to the US-Iran war, high fuel prices and changes in the reservation system. Wizz Air reported a loss of €198 million for the second quarter (April-June).