Air fares could fall over the winter by as much as 15 per cent as airlines fight to attract passengers in a sluggish economy, Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, predicted yesterday. However, he warned that if carriers were to divert services away from Britain because of uncertainty over aviation regulations post-Brexit, less competition would mean that ticket prices rise again. Though confirming a lowering of profits expected in the current financial year, Ryanair upgraded its long-term forecasts to carry 200 million passengers in 2023-24 in a fleet of 585 aircraft, nearly double the 106 million that it carried last year. The Irish airline, which carries about 24 million passengers a year in the British market, reported after-tax profits of €1.16 billion for the six…

Source: The Times November 08, 2016 00:05 UTC