At some airlines, the turnover of bosses can be measured in months. But if negotiations on the future of Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary are successfully completed, he will have spent nearly four decades at the top.
Ryanair’s results for the financial year ending in March reveal negotiations have been taking place with the controversial chief executive about “an extension of his employment contract with the Group” until April 2032 – by which time he will be 71.
The news emerged as Ryanair announced profits after tax up 40 per cent to €2.26bn (£1.97bn). It equates to £9.50 per person flown.
Mr O’Leary’s current contract ends in 2028. The talks centre on a purchase option for 10 million shares in the Irish airline conglomerate.
The Ryanair statement, in which the airline boss is referred to as “MOL”, says: “These discussions have almost concluded and engagement with the Group’s largest institutional shareholders will commence in the coming days.
“Under the proposed new contract, MOL will have a purchase option over 10m shares struck at market price (before the recent Iran war related decline), but (similar to his 2019 grant) these options will only be exercisable if very ambitious profits after tax or share price growth targets are achieved, which will create substantial value for all shareholders.
“A further update will be provided in due course.”
Mr O’Leary became deputy CEO in 1991. At the time, he later told The Independent, Ryanair “was hovering on the verge of bankruptcy”. He said: “In spring 1991 I thought it would be a miracle if we were still in business three months later.”
After masterminding a remarkable turnaround, he became chief executive in 1994 – and set about turning a small Irish airline into the biggest carrier in Europe in terms of passengers flown annually. During the last financial year, Ryanair flew 208.4 million people, an average of 571,000 per day.
Ryanair is also the safest airline in the world measured by the number of passengers flown.
During the financial year, traffic grew by four per cent while revenue per passenger rose seven per cent. “Ancillary revenue” above the basic air fare is now €5bn (£4.36bn). These additional purchases – from baggage and seat reservations to inflight scratchcards and panini sales – now account for 30 per cent of total revenue.
Looking ahead, Ryanair says passengers are booking significantly later for summer 2026. It expects fares in July, August and September to remain roughly the same as last year.
Mr O’Leary said: “Pricing in recent weeks has eased somewhat in response to economic uncertainty caused by higher oil prices, the fear of fuel shortages and the risk of inflation adversely impacting consumer spending.
“The conflict in the Middle East has created economic uncertainty and we still don’t know when the Strait of Hormuz will reopen. Despite this, Europe remains relatively well supplied with jet fuel, with significant volumes sourced from West Africa, the Americas and Norway.”
Most of the airline’s fuel requirements for the next year are “hedged” at levels much lower than the current global prices.
The airline has including an “exceptional charge” of €85m (£74) as a provision against a fine imposed by Italy’s competition watchdog, the AGCM. In December 2025, a penalty of three times that amount was imposed after Ryanair was deemed to have limited the ability of travel agencies to purchase its tickets.
Ryanair calls the fine “baseless” and says its lawyers are confident the penalty “will be overturned on appeal”.
The market capitalisation for Ryanair is currently £20.7bn. The total value of its shares is about 15 per cent higher than IAG – British Airways’ parent company – and eight times the figure for easyJet.
Read more: Lufthansa steals Eurovision airline contest crown from easyJet for Vienna 2026
