Ryanair summer fares will rise as high as 9% above 2019 levels, CEO says

Ryanair Group CE Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday bookings at Europe's biggest budget airline are strengthening and he expects summer fares to be between 7% and 9% higher than pre-pandemic levels. He said the load factor, a measure of how well an airline is filling available seats, should be around 94% in June, almost reaching pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. "And July, August, and September look very strong with higher load factors and also higher fares," he said. "Fares will be up probably high single digits 7,8,9% over summer 2019." He said he expects the travelling experience for European customers to improve over summer as airport management groups "iron out" staffing shortages through recruitment. A snapback in air travel has triggered long queues at some British airports, as well as Amsterdam, Dublin and Toronto, as airport managers struggle to fill jobs fast enough.Spanish cabin staff on Monday said they will go on strike six days late June and early July, but O'Leary said any disruption caused by industrial action was likely to be "tiny and inconsequential". He said there might be a small number of cancellations or delays but that the proposed strike action has "no support".<br/>