Ryanair aims to offer free flights in ten years time, CEO Michael O’Leary told the Airport Operators Association conference on Tuesday.
O’ Leary argued that a combination of factors, including increasingly low air fares and the possible abolition of Air Passenger Duty, Ryanair will be able to offer ‘zero fares’ to passengers within five to ten years.
He said: “The challenge for us in the future is to keep driving air fares down. I have this vision that in the next five to 10 years that the air fares on Ryanair will be free, in which case the flights will be full, and we will be making our money out of sharing the airport revenues; of all the people who will be running through airports, and getting a share of the shopping and the retail revenues at airports.”
The Dublin-based airline has expanded rapidly and is one of the only carriers to be unaffected by recent challenges in the sector, including Brexit, traffic control stikes and terrorist attacks. By 2024, it hopes carry over 200 million passengers per year.
In his speech, he criticised the government for their handling of Brexit, saying they have “no idea how they are going to exit the EU.”
“Britain has no negotiation position whatsoever. You file the Article 50 in March, you walk off a cliff in two years’ time.
He added that if the three Cabinet ministers responsible for Brexit – David Davis, Boris Johnson and Liam Brady – had any lower IQs, “they’d be plants”.
The airline’s cheap flights and promotional pricing strategy has allowed Ryanair to beat competition and take passengers from mid-price airlines, including AirBerlin and Lot. Its average ticket price was £39 this year, with prices set to fall 10 – 15 percent over the next 12 months.