peter we states, rather abruptly;
No matter how many pax they have they are not covering the cost of the fuel to fly them. The more they fly, the more they lose.
This statement of fact is presumably made after referring to some facts and figures produced by Ryanair; would you care to share the scource with us mere mortals?
As much as some of you try to stereotype the passengers of Ryanair most of you fail by a wide margin. Your assumption that they are low income chavs who go on drunken shopping trips a few times a year is very wide of the mark.
These are facts, not spurious and inaccurate thoughts plucked from thin air as some of you choose to do. Most of the passengers on any of the flights to central or Southern France, Spain and Italy, for example, are owners of homes in the region. They are well-off, high income and regular travelers and hardly fit your fond image of them, I'm afraid. They are also very happy to be flying to these more remote airfields as they are closer, in many cases, to their homes. You think Ryanair flies to Bezier or Pau just for the fun of it?
They, like most sensible people, know that prices have risen and they are quite happy to pay more for their trip to their second home. Knowing that the fares are rising from a low baseline to a new, more realistic baseline, will not stop them from flying with Ryanair.
Indeed, those with houses in Florida are more likely to reduce the frequency of their trips than those in the South of France!