Ryanair boss O'Leary sees no sign of recession

Air fares will keep rising, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary predicted, because capacity within the European air travel market remains constrained.

The airline is expecting a very strong summer season, betting that average European short-haul air fares will jump by a high single-digit percentage.

Low-cost carrier Ryanair is not seeing any signs of recession, CEO Michael O'Leary said, pointing to two weeks of record bookings this January and a recovery in demand from Britain.

January blues helped drive holiday bookings, Mr O'Leary told reporters in London, noting that his airline, Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers, took more than 2m bookings last weekend, its most ever in a two-day period.