Love them or loathe them, Ryanair is our go-to for no frills, cheap flights to some of our favourite holiday destinations like Spain, Portugal and Greece.
And now, the budget airline has admitted they’re considering a major change, which will no doubt come as good news to millions of bargain-hunting holiday makers.
Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has long since said that the company would not sell package holidays, as it would distract from their main goal of being the market leader in short-haul travel.
But now, the airline boss has taken somewhat of a U-turn, revealing that he would review their stance on package holidays, once Ryanair has established as much growth as possible from expanding its fleet of Boeing aircraft.
He said: ‘I wouldn’t rule out setting up a holidays division. The holiday product is probably a reasonable way of charging higher fares and yields and for wrapping it into a package.’
It would in fact not be the first time that the Irish-based airline had ventured into package holidays.
Back in 2016, they introduced a holiday programme, but scrapped it after just two months.
Despite his previous thoughts on package holidays, competitors such as Jet2 and easyJet clearly show the value of dedicated holiday arms.
While speaking to the Telegraph about potentially offering package holidays, Michael O’Leary added that easyJet Holidays has been ‘reasonably successful’ since its relaunch in 2019.
Europe’s cheapest holiday spot
If you’re looking for a holiday that won’t break the bank, the Algarve in Portugal is the place to go.
The region has recently been named as the fifth best-value destination in the world for 2024 by Post Office Travel Money, making it Europe’s cheapest.
According to the brand’s Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer, you’ll get more bang for your buck here than anywhere else on the continent, including Marmaris in Turkey and Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, where prices have risen in the last year.
Looking at the cost of eight popular items, the report found that a cup of filter coffee will set you back just 88p in the Algarve, while a bottle of local beer comes in at £2.20 and a glass of wine at £1.76.
But, customers shouldn’t get too excited just yet. He added that Ryanair would need to ensure that package holidays wouldn’t simply take income from the airlines, and wouldn’t be too difficult to manage.
The news comes after the chief executive caused controversy by proposing a two-drink limit at airports, to curb disruptive behaviour on flights.
The boss said that he’d seen a notable rise of drink and drug fuelled bad behaviour on planes, and that passengers on party flights destination Ibiza, were the worst culprits.
The aim would be to ensure travellers are sober before they even take to the skies, reducing the risk of disruption.
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