Ryanair Group CFO Neil Sorahan on Q3 results, feud with Elon Musk and growth outlook

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 26, 2026 at 14:41  |  4:56  |  CNBC
Speakers
Neil Sorahan — CFO
Becky Quick — Co-Anchor, Squawk Box

Summary

Ryanair Group CFO Neil Sorahan discusses the airline's Q3 results, an Italian antitrust fine, the Elon Musk/Starlink dispute, and its growth outlook. He says the 85 million euro Italian fine is baseless and likely to be reversed on appeal, while strong bookings and earlier Boeing deliveries have raised confidence in fares and passenger growth. Sorahan also says Starlink is not currently economic for Ryanair's short-haul fleet.

  • Ryanair Q3 earnings missed expectations while revenue beat.
  • The CFO attributes part of the miss to an 85 million euro Italian AGCM fine provision.
  • Ryanair expects the Italian fine to be overturned and the provision reversed.
  • The Elon Musk feud generated free publicity and a strong week of bookings.
  • Starlink is not economic for Ryanair's two-hour flights now.
  • Ryanair raised FY fare guidance to 8-9% and targets almost 208 million passengers.
  • Boeing delivered aircraft earlier than expected, adding high-yield Christmas seats.
Ideas
Neil Sorahan CFO 0:48
Italian fine likely reversed; Ryanair upside.
Ryanair saw very strong bookings into October mid-term breaks and, more importantly, close-in Christmas and New Year bookings ahead of expectations. Boeing delivered aircraft sooner than anticipated, letting Ryanair add high-yielding seats over Christmas, and fares are trending ahead of the prior-year Q4. That gives management confidence to raise FY fare guidance to 8-9% for the year to March 2026, with passenger numbers expected to grow about 4% to almost 208 million.
RYAAY HIGH
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This CNBC video, published January 26, 2026, features Neil Sorahan discussing RYAAY. 1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Neil Sorahan  · Tickers: RYAAY