Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the company's quarterly earnings results, impact of rising jet fuel costs, Europe's energy policies, state of travel demand, and more. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/42d859g
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What Michael O'Leary said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, discussed the airline's record full-year results, reporting 208 million passengers and a profit of 2.26 billion euros. He highlighted Ryanair's strong hedging position, being 80% hedged out to March 2027 at $67 a barrel, while spot jet fuel prices are around $150. He predicted airline bankruptcies in Europe if oil prices stay high and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, noting competitors have already cut capacity. O'Leary criticized European environmental taxes on air travel, calling for their abolition, and praised Sweden for removing its aviation tax. He disagreed with Trump on tariffs but agreed on the need for increased NATO defense spending. He discussed Ryanair's cost advantage, with a cost per seat of about $40 versus Southwest's $120, and announced plans to pay down a 1.2 billion bond, becoming debt-free. He forecasted consolidation in Europe toward four major carriers, with Ryanair as the dominant low-cost carrier.
Key takeaways
Ryanair is 80% hedged on fuel out to March 2027 at $67 a barrel, while spot jet fuel is about $150, giving a significant cost advantage.
O'Leary predicts airline bankruptcies in Europe if oil prices stay high and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed until September or October.
Ryanair will pay down a 1.2 billion bond next week, becoming completely debt-free with a fleet of 650 aircraft.
Ryanair's cost per seat is about $40, compared to Southwest's $120, due to efficiency and larger aircraft.
Europe is consolidating toward four major carriers, with Ryanair set to be the dominant low-cost carrier, and others may fail or be acquired.
1:47Do they either go bankrupt, or are you worried that they just start canceling flights left and right because it's too expensive to even be in the air or what?
2:37Is it glaring to you at this point? Is it Germany?
3:42Do you Europeans ever look at Germany and wonder about the leadership there with what's happening with...?
3:52Should they be helping with Iran or with the strait?
4:46But could there be some recessions in some of the countries that are less...?
5:22And you didn't see any results, any pressure yet from demand destruction from this or...?
5:41Is that the same story in Europe, or is that a completely different story?
Europe's largest airline group, Ryanair, earnings out this morning. Joining us now to talk to the company's results, fuel costs, Boeing, and more is Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary. The Dublin-based budget airline group is Boeing's biggest customer outside of the US. Good morning.
Certainly not as well. Actually, we can't say things like that anymore. You look great. I find you very attractive. How bad is this likely to get in terms of jet fuel?
I don't think it's bad at all. I mean, we've just announced record full-year results. So we carried 208 million passengers. We declared a profit of 2.26 billion. Oil prices have spiked hugely, but we're very well hedged. We're 80% hedged out to March 27th at $67 a barrel. The spot price today on jet is about $150 a barrel. So we're in great shape.
Probably. Yeah, we hedge all along. Generally speaking, it's the advantage of having a strong balance sheet. So we're in pretty good shape. Our competitors are in real trouble. Most of them already hedged till the end of September. And the risk in Europe, though, is they were worried in the last couple of months they'd have supply disruptions. So they get some of their oil from the Middle East. Most of that has switched to supplies coming from the Americas, Norway, West Africa. So the risk of fuel disruption has gone away. But much higher oil prices are going to be a real challenge through the remainder of this summer in Europe. But thankfully, Ryanair, because of our hedging, we should be in pretty good shape.
Is your sense that the other airlines that you worry about could get in trouble? That they do? Do they either go bankrupt, or are you worried that they just start canceling flights left and right because it's too expensive to even be in the air or what?
Andrew, well, they're already canceling flights and we've seen a lot of competitors take 5-6% of capacity out in April, May, and June. I mean, I think if oil prices remain up at these levels, if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed until, say, September or October, there's going to be airline bankruptcies in Europe. Like you had Spirit over here in the States, we have airlines over there that are in the same kind of poor shape. They have low fares but high costs. And if they can't make money, I mean, I don't think anybody really believes this is going to continue on to the end of the summer. You have Memorial Day coming up here at the end of May. The midterms are kicking off. You know, I think the administration is going to have to declare a win and get the hell out of there.
It's pan-European, Joe. I mean, we have spent the last 20 years taxing the hell out of European air travel. You know, we have an environmental tax about €77 a ticket now on all, only on intra-European flights.
Oh, you're saving the planet and the hedgehogs and whatever else it was. But we exempt all the long-haul flights. So the Americans, the Chinese, the Gulf carriers are all exempt. We're just taxing the hell out of the poor dumb Europeans going on their two-week holidays to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece. The airlines across Europe are calling for an abolition of that ETS. It is the dumbest taxation known in humankind. Ursula von der Leyen, who's the—I call her useless—she's the President of the European Commission.
Useless von der Leyen. She's been talking about making Europe more competitive for about the last two years. Of course, she hasn't had an idea, no initiative. She should start by abolishing environmental taxes on air travel. The Swedes now get it. The home of Greta Thunberg, flight shaming. They've abolished the aviation tax and we're growing very strongly in Sweden. Europe needs to do likewise.
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O'Leary, M. (2026, May 18). Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary on jet fuel crisis: Expect airline bankruptcies in Europe [Interview transcript]. CNBC Television. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/916685/
MLA
Michael O'Leary. "Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary on jet fuel crisis: Expect airline bankruptcies in Europe." CNBC Television, 18 May. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/916685/.
BibTeX
@misc{oleary2026_916685,
author = {Michael O'Leary},
title = {Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary on jet fuel crisis: Expect airline bankruptcies in Europe},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, CNBC Television. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {may},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/916685/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
