Ryanair Isn't Selling You a Ticket. It's Selling a Cost Position.

A Ryanair passenger pays about €50 for the flight and about €24 more for everything around it. Last year the airline carried 208 million passengers and made a record €2.26 billion profit. Then, in spring 2026, a war in the Middle East sent jet fuel to more than double. Ryanair had already fixed the price of about 80% of its fuel. In this video we follow the deals behind the cheap ticket: how a small Irish airline copied Southwest, how its huge Boeing orders were timed, what the €24 of extras really are, how a fuel hedge works, who paid for the fuel crisis, the airport fights with Spain, Germany and Belgium, and what happens when the cheap fuel contract runs out. Chapters: 0:00 Fifty euros for the flight 0:57 Three questions 1:37 The airline that copied Southwest 3:29 The aircraft machine 5:22 The twenty-four euros on top 6:19 The fuel bet 7:16 The fuel crisis 8:17 Who paid for the war 9:21 The airport fight 10:28 The next planes 11:39 Airline or hedge fund? 12:45 Conclusion 13:51 Your question (comments) Facts are based on Ryanair's results and press releases (fiscal 2026 and first quarter of fiscal 2027) and news reports, as of October 2026. "About €11 profit per passenger" and "fuel above 40% of operating costs" are my own calculations from the reported figures. Hedge percentages of different airlines refer to different periods. Not financial advice. Images: Wikimedia Commons (see credits). #ryanair #businessmodel #howdoesitwork