Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary sees 'dramatic recovery' in bookings, in change of tone for airline

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary. File Picture

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has seen a “dramatic recovery” in bookings over the past two weeks as the easing of pandemic travel curbs across Europe encourages people to fly again.

The carrier has seen load factors increase to around 75% and expects them to reach as much as 90% by the peak of the summer high season, Mr O’Leary said at a press conference in Milan on Wednesday. Ryanair expects fares to remain low through May before rising during summer, he said.

Shares of Ryanair spiked, and rose over 3% in Dublin trade.

The comments mark a change of tone from Europe’s largest airline. Late last month, when Ryanair reported quarterly results, Mr O’Leary took a cautious view on the pace of the travel rebound. At the time, the company said it would cut prices to stimulate demand this quarter while more countries considered removing Covid-19 travel restrictions.

European airlines are counting on a bumper summer season driven by pent-up demand after a two-year downturn in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Smaller rivals EasyJet and Wizz Air are adding new routes and increasing capacity to tap into the demand. Mr O’Leary was in Milan to announce new routes from northern Italy to Newcastle, England, Frankfurt, Germany, and Madeira.

Ryanair previously announced plans for an aggressive expansion as travel returns, with 720 new routes and 15 new bases announced for the fiscal year beginning in April. On Wednesday, the carrier said it will base 25 more aircraft in Italy this summer and add 20 more routes from the country. 

- Bloomberg