The Irish budget airline reported on Monday that lower spring prices led to a 46% decrease in profits, amounting to €360 million for the three months ending June 30.

The average fare decreased by 15% to €42 year-on-year, while passenger numbers increased by 10% to 55.5 million.

CEO Michael O’Leary commented, “While second-quarter demand is strong, pricing remains softer than we expected, and we now anticipate second-quarter fares to be materially lower than last summer.”

The increase in passenger numbers mitigated the impact on overall turnover, with revenues falling just 1% to €363 billion. Passenger numbers are projected to rise by 8% overall this financial year.

These figures indicate that the post-pandemic surge in pricing for airlines is waning, with other carriers also recently cautioning about ticket prices.

Customers are generally booking summer holidays later than usual, likely due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Earlier in July, Jet2 noted that there would only be “modest” price increases this summer amid a trend of later bookings to its European destinations.

Lufthansa has also highlighted “negative market trends,” while Air France-KLM warned of a financial impact after fewer bookings than expected for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

Ryanair added that its summer performance is “totally dependent on close-in bookings and yields in August and September.”

Mr. O’Leary also criticized European air traffic controllers for the reduced number of flights during the period.

He stated, “In the last 10 days of June, we experienced a significant decline in European air traffic control capacity, resulting in multiple flight delays and cancellations, particularly for early morning flights.”

“This makes it more urgent than ever for the new European Commission and Parliament to implement long-delayed reforms of Europe’s inefficient air traffic control services.”