Ryanair forecasts 10% decline in fares as passenger numbers take off in August

Ryanair's flights were fuller in August, as a higher number of passengers helped the carrier offset the ongoing decline in fares.

The airline said on Friday (2 September) that it carried 11.5 million passengers last month, an 11% year-on-year increase, which it attributed to the low fares on offer. Meanwhile, the load factor, a crucial gauge in the airline industry as it measures the number of seats filled on each aircraft, rose from 95% to 96%.

On Wednesday, the Dublin-based group said it forecast average fares to fall by between 10% to 12% in the six months to March next year, largely due to persistently low oil prices.

Group chief executive Michael O'Leary explained that while the airline had endured a successful summer, offsetting lower ticket prices with an increased number of passengers, it would struggle to lower spending even further, should ticket fares continue to fall.

"We're not yet revising the guidance," O'Leary said. "But we're very cautious on the full-year guidance. If winter fares fall by more than 10% or 12%, we will have to review."

He added the budget airline, which launched two new routes to Strasbourg and Faro from its London terminals, will slow its UK capacity growth from 15% this year to 6% in 2017 in response to the uncertainty triggered by the pro-Brexit vote.