In addition to a warning of an overall loss for the whole financial year, Ryanair has reported a significant loss of an alarming 85 percent drop in net profits for its first fiscal quarter ending on 30th June.

The dramatically rising fuel prices have driven Ryanair down the slide to an after-tax profit of €21 million for the quarter. Ryanair has told that its fuel bill soared up by 93 percent during the last quarter alone. As per the present conditions, the fuel prices alone work out to not less than 50 percent of the total operating costs as opposed to the 36 percent recorded during the same period last year.

For the whole year, the airline has projected a potential loss of about €60 million, if the fuel prices continue to remain high with the airfares falling further. If Ryanair suffers a loss for this year, it will be the first time ever that the airline does so after reinventing itself as a budget carrier during 1980s.

A Ryanair executive has said that the recent lowering of the oil prices has enabled the airline to hedge a greater part of its fuel requirements for the next two quarters. For the quarter stretching between July and September, the airline has hedged not less than 90 percent of its needs at the rate of $129 per barrel, and 80 percent fuel needs at the rate of $124 per barrel for the quarter between October and December.