a5786l
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of May
2020
RYANAIR HOLDINGS PLC
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
c/o Ryanair Ltd Corporate Head Office
Dublin
Airport
County Dublin Ireland
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file
annual
reports
under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F..X.. Form 40-F
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information
contained
in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the
Commission
pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities
Exchange
Act of
1934.
Yes
No ..X..
If
"Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant
in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ________
RYANAIR HOLDINGS PLC - COVID-19 MARKET UPDATE
Ryanair Holdings Plc today Fri. 1 May updated the market on its
traffic projections for Q1, its plans for a likely return to
services in Q2, the expected significant decline in current year
traffic, and the impact on fares in Europe where the level playing
field will be distorted by competing against legacy airlines who
are receiving over €30 billion of State Aid, in clear breach
of both EU competition and State Aid rules. This unlawful and
discriminatory State Aid will be challenged by Ryanair in the
European Courts.
Q1 and full year traffic outlook
Due to Continent wide EU Government flight restrictions, Ryanair
expects to operate less than 1% of its scheduled flying program in
Apr, May & June 2020. Q1 traffic of less than 150,000
passengers will be 99.5% behind the Q1 budget of 42.4m passengers.
While some return to flight services is expected in the second
(July-Sept) quarter, Ryanair expects to carry no more than 50% of
its original traffic target of 44.6m in Q2. For the full year ended
March 2021, Ryanair now expects to carry less than 100m passengers,
more than 35% below its original 154m target.
State Aid Distorts Competitive Landscape
When scheduled flights return in Europe, sometime in July, Ryanair
believes it will take some time for passenger volumes to return.
Consumer confidence will be impacted by public health restrictions,
such as temperature checks at airports and face coverings for
passengers and staff on board aircraft. Ryanair expects traffic on
reduced flight schedules will be stimulated by significant price
discounting, and below cost selling from flag carriers with huge
State Aid war chests (or nationalisation in the case of Alitalia).
These lower fares will require aggressive airport price incentives
to encourage passengers to travel, and Ryanair continues to call on
EU Govts to cut passenger taxes, airport taxes, and departure taxes
on an industry wide basis as a better alternative to selective
State Aid "doping" for flag carriers.
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Examples of State Aid
Doping - to date
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Lufthansa Group
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€12.4 billion plus
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AF-KLM Group
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€10.1 billion plus
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TUI Group
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€ 1.8 billion plus
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Alitalia
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€ 1.7 billion plus
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SAS
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€ 0.8 billion plus
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Finnair
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€ 0.7 billion plus
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Norwegian
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€ 0.3 billion plus
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When Ryanair returns to meaningful flying from July, the
competitive landscape in Europe will be distorted by unprecedented
volumes of State Aid from some EU Governments to their "national"
airlines. Currently this amounts to over €30 billion - in
addition to payroll supports - mainly to the Lufthansa Group, Air
France-KLM, Alitalia, SAS, and Norwegian. All this State Aid is in
breach of EU rules, and will distort Europe's level playing field
in airline competition for many years. Lufthansa, Air France-KLM
and Alitalia can now fund many years of below cost selling, whereas
Ryanair and other well run airlines will not request (and would not
receive) such State Aid. Ryanair will challenge these unlawful
State Aid bailouts in the EU Courts to protect fair competition in
Europe's aviation market, which has done so much to lower fares for
consumers over the last 20 years.
Ryanair has repeatedly called for any State Aid to be transparent
and non-discriminatory, such as payroll support schemes. This
could, for example in Germany, have involved cutting departure
taxes or reducing airport taxes in France, which would have
benefited all airlines and passengers equally and not just favoured
the local flag carrier. In France, the State is refunding aviation
taxes but only to "French" airlines where all other EU airlines
flying in France (such as Ryanair, EasyJet & BA) must still pay
these taxes. This bailout discrimination is clearly in breach of
State Aid and competition rules.
Fleet Review
Ryanair is now reviewing its growth plans, and aircraft orders. We
are in active negotiations with both Boeing, and Laudamotion's A320
lessors to cut the number of planned aircraft deliveries over the
next 24 months, which could reduce our capex commitments, to more
accurately reflect a slower and more distorted EU air travel market
in a post Covid-19 world.
3,000 Job Cuts and Pay Cuts - Consultations
As a direct result of the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis, the
grounding of all flights from mid-March until at least July, and
the distorted State Aid landscape in Europe, Ryanair now expects
the recovery of passenger demand and pricing (to 2019 levels) will
take at least 2 years, until summer 2022 at the earliest. The
Ryanair Airlines will shortly notify their trade unions about its
restructuring and job loss program, which will commence from July
2020. These plans will be subject to consultation but will affect
all Ryanair Airlines, and may result in the loss of up to 3,000
mainly pilot and cabin crew jobs, unpaid leave, and pay cuts of up
to 20%, and the closure of a number of aircraft bases across Europe
until traffic recovers. Job cuts and pay cuts will also be extended
to Head Office and Back Office teams. Group CEO Michael O'Leary,
whose pay was cut by 50% for April and May, has now agreed to
extend this 50% pay cut for the remainder of the financial year to
March 2021.
Outlook
As announced on 3 April, given the uncertain duration of the
Covid-19 crisis, and a slower return to "normal" flight services,
Ryanair cannot provide any guidance for FY21 (year ended March
2021). The Group expects to report a net loss of over €100m
in Q1, with further losses in Q2 (peak summer) due to the
substantial decline in traffic arising from Covid-19 fleet
groundings. Ryanair expects that its return to scheduled services
will be rendered more difficult by competing with flag carrier
airlines, who will be financing below cost selling with the benefit
of over €30 billion in unlawful State Aid, in breach of both
EU State Aid and competition rules.
Ryanair entered this unprecedented Covid-19 crisis with almost
€4bn in cash, and we continue to actively manage these cash
resources to ensure that we can survive this Covid-19 pandemic, and
more importantly the return to lower fare flight schedules as soon
as possible, when our customers can look forward to more low air
fares as we are forced to compete with flag carrier airlines who
have received €30 billion in State Aid "doping" to allow them
to sustain below cost selling for months after this Covid-19 crisis
has passed, as it certainly will over the coming
months.
ENDS
This announcement contains inside information
For
further information
please
contact:
Shane O'Toole
Piaras Kelly
Ryanair
DAC
Edelman Ireland
Tel:
+353-1-9451212
Tel: +353-1-6789333
RyanairIR@ryanair.com
ryanair@edelman.com
Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to
view the associated PDF document.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5721L_1-2020-4-30.pdf
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.
Date: 01
May, 2020
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By:___/s/
Juliusz Komorek____
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Juliusz
Komorek
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Company
Secretary
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