Ryanair passengers boost airlines profits paying over the odds for travel insurance

Self-styled budget airline Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) enjoyed an 80 per cent increase in half-year profits to €387 million following a rise in the sale of ancillary products including travel insurance and other items passengers can buy more cheaply elsewhere.

Ryanair's profits to the end of September rose in spite of a two per cent fall in revenues and a 17 per cent drop in average air fares during the six-month period.

Ancillary revenues, which include baggage charges, check-in fees and priority boarding as well as products such as travel insurance and car hire, grew eight per cent to 20 per cent of total revenues.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary admitted air fares will continue to fall during the second half of the year, resulting in a decline in overall profits for the full year to between €200m and €300m.

Meanwhile arch-rival British Airways faces an ongoing threat of industrial action by its thousands of cabin crew worldwide, which could leave passengers stranded over the Christmas period.

Cabin crew members of the Unite union are also taking the loss-making airline to court over its plans to alter working arrangements and reduce staffing levels.

A High Court hearing is expected to take place on Thursday. Union officials are hoping the court will prevent BA from making radical changes to staff contracts as planned on November 16.

If not, Unite says it will ballot its 13,000 members for industrial action, which could take place during the busy festive period starting around December 20.

Digg    Reddit    Facebook    Tweet This