September 2nd 2024.
The possibility of a big change is currently being considered by Ryanair. For better or for worse, they are our top choice for affordable, no-frills flights to popular vacation spots like Spain, Portugal, and Greece. And now, the budget airline has revealed that they are contemplating a major shift, which will likely be welcomed by many bargain-seeking holidaymakers.
Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, has always been firm in his stance against selling package holidays, as it would divert their focus from being the leading short-haul travel provider. However, he has now taken a surprising turn and announced that they will review their position on package holidays once they have maximized their growth potential by expanding their fleet of Boeing aircraft. He stated, "I wouldn't rule out setting up a holidays division. The holiday product is probably a good way to charge higher fares and yields and to bundle it into a package."
Interestingly, this is not the first time that the Irish-based airline has ventured into package holidays. In 2016, they launched a holiday program but discontinued it after only two months. Despite O'Leary's previous reservations about package holidays, their competitors like Jet2 and easyJet have proven the value of having dedicated holiday divisions. In an interview with the Telegraph, O'Leary also mentioned that easyJet Holidays has been fairly successful since its relaunch in 2019.
Speaking of holidays, if you're in search of a budget-friendly vacation, look no further than the Algarve in Portugal. According to Post Office Travel Money's Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer, this region has been ranked as the fifth most affordable destination in the world for 2024, making it the cheapest in Europe. The report looked at the prices of eight common items and found that a cup of filter coffee costs only 88p, a bottle of local beer is £2.20, and a glass of wine is £1.76.
But before you get too excited, O'Leary also mentioned that Ryanair would need to ensure that offering package holidays would not take away from their airline's revenue or be too difficult to manage. This news comes after the CEO made headlines by proposing a two-drink limit at airports to tackle disruptive behavior on flights. He expressed concern over the increase of incidents involving alcohol and drugs on flights, particularly to party destinations like Ibiza.
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