Ryanair eyes expansion into package holidays, challenging rivals Jet2 and easyJet

Ryanair‘s CEO, Michael O’Leary, is considering an expansion into the package holiday market, a move that could position the airline alongside its leisure travel competitors, Jet2 and easyJet, who already have established holiday package brands. In an interview with the “Telegraph”, O’Leary mentioned the potential for a dedicated holidays division within Ryanair, suggesting that packaged holidays could offer a way to command higher fares and yields.

When looking at the packages put together by competitors like easyJet and Jet2, O’Leary said they were also a good way of making extra money from limited slots at larger airports.

“I wouldn’t rule out setting up a holidays division,” Michael O’Leary said in the interview. “Holidays are a reasonable way for them to try to monetise that scarce capacity at expensive airports. We on the other hand are taking lots of new aircraft and still expanding.”

This strategic consideration comes even as Ryanair has recently secured several “Approved OTA” agreements with travel platforms, signaling a push towards integrating more comprehensively into the travel and tourism ecosystem.

Despite the apparent competition this new venture would introduce, O’Leary sees significant potential due to the rising costs of accommodations in popular destinations like the Canaries, Spain, Italy, and Greece, which have surged this summer, thereby increasing the allure of all-inclusive holiday packages for consumers seeking value.

Currently, the airline is waiting for a delivery of new planes from Boeing, but their arrival has been delayed. He told The Times: “We were supposed to get seven planes from Boeing in July. We got five. We were supposed to get ten in August. We’re going to be lucky to get five, which will include two of the July delay deliveries.”

The airline has claimed that it has lost an estimated 500million euros of revenue this year because of Boeing delays.

The article Ryanair eyes expansion into package holidays, challenging rivals Jet2 and easyJet first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.