The boss of Ryanair has said the budget carrier is "better protected" against rising oil prices than its rivals amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary told reporters the carrier would be “largely insulated” from rising fuel costs for the next 12 months.
He said Ryanair had hedged 80% of its fuel needs until March next year at around 63 US dollars per barrel. Brent crude hit a seven-year high of 113 US dollars per barrel on Wednesday (March 2) as Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference in the City of London, Mr O’Leary described Ryanair fuel hedging as “somewhat fortuitous” and claimed the airline would “pass on those very considerable fuel savings to our customers in the form of lower airfares”.
The veteran airline leader said Ryanair has historically “done better during periods of rising oil prices”.
"The thing is to have hedging in place," he said. “Our competitors like easyJet are 50% hedged; Wizz Air, who have no hedging in place at all, are going to struggle to beat not only our lower costs, but also our lower fuel bills.
“And that’s why we will see a very strong recovery in our traffic when, hopefully, the Ukrainian situation will get resolved – hopefully in favour of the Ukrainians and not the Russians – in the not-too-distant future.”
Mr O’Leary claimed Wizz Air’s position is “a crazy place to be” as “their profits get completely wiped out if oil stays above 100 US dollars a barrel this year".
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is causing economic shockwaves around the globe. On Monday, shares in the UK's largest defence contractor, BAE Systems, surged as the war continued.
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce's share price plummeted last week on the news the company's chief executive is stepping down from his role and amid the invasion.
In the Midlands, a food company has launched a humanitarian effort to collect and ship out 50 trucks of food to families in Ukraine.
Oakland International hopes to start sending donations from UK suppliers to the Poland/Ukraine border – and maybe even across the border if it is safe enough.
