Ryanair predicts summer fare rebound

Ryanair yesterday reported strong demand across Europe and projected that fares would rebound to recover much of the decline that dented profit last year as consumers struggled with high interest rates.

- CONOR HUMPHRIES

"Demand is robust all across the network," Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan told Reuters in an interview. "We operate into 37 different countries. We're seeing strong summer demand everywhere."

The Irish low-cost carrier, Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers, reported a 16% fall in annual profit for the 12-month period ended March 31, as softer demand and a dispute with online travel agents drove fares down by 7%.

"We're delighted that we're going to be recovering most of that 7%, just not all of it. So, I think that that’s a fairly good turnaround," Mr Sorahan said.

The increase in average fares of near 7% compares with a forecast of 4-6% made by Chief Executive Michael O'Leary in March.