Just recently Ryanair posted a 550 percent rise in quarterly profits. However, despite this Ryanair has warned that its price war with rival carriers is likely to result in lower than expected profits for the full year. Net first quarter profits rose to €136.5 million. This is believed to be due to an unexpected drop in fuel costs, which fell 42 percent to just €214 million.

Ryanair says that it expects the full years profits to come in at the low end of its €200-300 million range forecast. The aggressive price cutting has reduced the yield that Ryanair has been getting per seat. However, the airline is on track to carry 67 million people this year, making it the largest airline in Europe by the number of passengers flown.

The chief executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, said that their outlook remains cautious for the remainder of the fiscal year. He said that traffic growth is strong, but the weaker yields due to the recession and the impact of the tourist tax on the UK and Ireland tourists has hurt profits.

Of course, Michael O’Leary has already pointed out that, during recession times, the winners are always companies like McDonalds, Aldi, and Ryanair that can offer the lowest prices and the best services to their consumers. He says that Ryanair continues to grow while others are failing.

Michael O’Leary has also said that it will be cutting the number of aircrafts that it has based at Stansted airport near London from 40 to 24 this winter because of the high UK air taxes. He simply said that these aircrafts will be moved to other airports that do not charge high air taxes.