Ryanair

RYAAY

Market cap $32.6B

Barclays has picked out IAG and Ryanair as its preferred names in Europe's airline sector and argued that elevated fuel costs are doing more than squeezing margins. They are beginning to redraw the competitive map.

RYAAY's passengers rise 5% year over year to 15.8M in March 2026, with load factor flat year over year at 93%.

RYAAY faces rising costs, weakening liquidity and estimate cuts, with shares lagging its industry, while mounting pressures cloud the outlook and investor appeal.

The CEO of Ryanair said fuel supplies could be at risk if the Iran war continues into May. Jet fuel prices have doubled since the war started, rising twice as much as oil.

Stocks listed in Europe fell on Thursday, as investors reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump's address on the Iran war.

With RYAAY shares moving north, we assess the current positioning of the stock to determine if it's a good investment at this juncture.

European budget ​carrier Ryanair ‌expects Boeing to get ​certification of ​its MAX 10 ⁠aircraft ​in the third ​quarter of the year, with ​deliveries ​set to be on ‌time ⁠early next year, CEO Michael ​O'Leary ​told ⁠Reuters at an ​event in ​Brussels.

European airline chiefs are meeting in Brussels on Thursday under the cloud of war in the Middle East and rising oil ​prices, looking to push back against the EU's green agenda and what the industry says are cumbersome rules surrounding ‌sustainable jet fuel.

Investors have been repositioning sharply across European airline stocks since the outbreak of Middle East hostilities, with Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA) emerging as the clear defensive favourite while short positions have built against carriers more vulnerable to elevated fuel prices. This is Citi's analysis of positioning data from institutional investors, with the analysis showing that sector positioning has turned more negative over both the past week and month.

RYAAY's passengers rise 6% year over year to 13.3M in February 2026, with load factor flat year over year at 92%.