After over thirty years as the CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary does not appear yet to have tired of his role at the airline, and in return, as the budget carrier enters into negotiations on an extension to his contract until 2032, the airline appears no less enamoured with him.
If O’Leary continues in the job until that date, he will still be CEO at 71 years old, six years beyond the standard retirement age in many Irish contracts. But, as ever, for both the carrier and the man, age is less of a consideration than profits.
O’Leary was instrumental in turning the company’s fortunes around when he became deputy CEO in 1991. Under his hawkish watch, it has evolved into Europe’s largest and the world’s safest carrier. The airline’s latest earnings call shows profits after tax up 40% to €2.26 billion. Its market cap sits at €22.5 billion.
Ryanair FY26 Results = €2.26BN profit after tax (+40% vs FY25)
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) May 18, 2026
✈️ Traffic up 4% to record 208M
✈️ Rev. per pax up 7%
✈️ Earnings insulated; cost advantage reinforced with 80% of FY27 jet fuel hedged at $67/bbl.
The deal that will decide whether O’Leary will carry on is likely to see him pocket a significant chunk of that, according to a Ryanair statement. “Under the proposed new contract,” it says, he “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.”
There are not many in the market who would bet against O’Leary delivering on those ambitions, despite the challenges of the current Strait of Hormuz hobbled market. O’Leary has a track record for turning a negative into a positive, as he did during a public spat with Elon Musk earlier this year, channelling the publicity into what he called a “Big Idiot Sale.”
In fact, Ryanair shares climbed by nearly five percent during Monday’s trading alone. In an interview with Bloomberg on the same day, canny strategising was evident as he described an enviable fuel hedging position that means Ryanair’s supply costs are low and stable to March 2027. O’Leary also ventured into political punditry, arguing that President Donald Trump would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to remain closed since his electoral survival depends on it. “The midterm election season kicks off on Memorial Day at the end of May,” he said, adding: “You know, Trump is going to lose the House and the Senate if he doesn’t get this resolved and reopened. None of us know when the timing will be but, you know, I hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Adding to the positive outlook for the airline, it awaits the delivery of 300 Boeing Air Max 10—an aircraft whose benefits O’Leary summed up as “20% more seats per plane burns 20% less oil.” The planes were reportedly purchased at bargain prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
