Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary warns that air fares will rise in the next five years

The cost of a plane ticket is “too cheap” and prices need to go up, according to the Ryanair boss.

Michael O’Leary said fares that cost less than a train ticket to the airport were “absurd”.

He predicted airfares will rise over the next five years as rising fuel costs and environmental pressures take their toll.

Fares on many routes are cheaper than they were a decade ago. But according to a recent report in the US, fares rose 18 percent in April – the biggest increase since 1963.

O’Leary said he cherished the low-cost era and pushed prices down with a no-frills service along with fellow entrepreneurs like easyJet’s Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

But he told the Financial Times: “It’s too cheap for what it is. I find it absurd every time I fly into Stansted that the train ride to central London is more expensive than the airfare.

Michael O’Leary said fares that cost less than a train ticket to the airport were “absurd”. He predicted airfares will rise over the next five years as rising fuel costs and environmental pressures take their toll

“It was my doing [taking prices so low]. I made a lot of money doing this. But ultimately I don’t think that air travel at an average price of €40 (£34) is sustainable in the medium term. It’s too cheap for that. But I think, you know, it’s still going to be very cheap and affordable at €50 and €60.

The 10:10pm flight from London Stansted to Milan Bergamo Airport in Italy on September 13 was listed for £9.99 on Ryanair’s website yesterday.

A return flight a fortnight later at 6am cost the same price, bringing the total cost to £19.98.

That’s less than a one-way ticket from London to Stansted on September 13, which arrives around two hours before departure and currently costs £20.70.

But the sentiments are at odds with comments he made to Ireland’s RTE in April.

“With all the talk about taxing air travel and ending air travel… the era of cheap flights is not ending,” O’Leary said.

The 10:10pm flight from London Stansted to Milan Bergamo Airport in Italy on September 13 was listed for £9.99 on Ryanair’s website yesterday

He told the station’s national radio program that he believed Ireland needed cheap flights and “our tourism depends on people flying in here”. Airlines have seen a surge in demand since lockdown restrictions ended in March.

But the impact of long flights on the ground, rising costs and drastic job cuts in the airline industry during the crisis have left some airlines struggling to meet demand. Thousands of aviation jobs have been shed during the Covid pandemic and many companies in the industry have struggled to hire enough new staff in time to handle the summer peak.

Passengers at Heathrow and other airports last week complained of long queues, canceled flights and lost luggage.

Meanwhile, planned airline strikes threaten to create even more travel chaos for British holidaymakers in the coming weeks. Ryanair employees are fighting back over pay.

British Airways workers at Heathrow Airport have also voted to strike after the airline failed to reintroduce a 10 per cent pay cut imposed during the pandemic.

The airline has offered a one-time 10 per cent bonus but no return to the same salary as before.