Despite reporting losses of £91 million for the last quarter of 2008 just yesterday, Ryanair has promised to keep on reducing air fares and still survive the credit crunch.

The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, who compared himself to McDonald,s boss, Ronald McDonald, made the vow in a newspaper report earlier today.

The airline’s losses last year eclipsed its £35 million profits a year earlier.

But Mr O’Leary said it would be low-cost firms like Ryanair, Aldi, McDonald, Lidl etc that would survive the meltdown in the end.

“Like Lidl, Aldi, Ikea and McDonald’s, Ryanair is the lowest-cost producer – by distance – in the European airline industry,” he explained.

According to him the longer and deeper the financial crisis gets, the better it gets for the lowest-cost producers in every sector.

Against the above backdrop the airline’s boss said Ryanair may cut air fares by 20 per cent in the coming months so as to lure passengers from its long-haul rivals.

Low prices notwithstanding, revenue for the airliner continued to rise via baggage fees as well as the sales of car hire and travel insurance.