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Ryanair sees strong bookings, rising prices for summer

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Recent heatwave has no influence on travel

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Aims to treble traffic from Warsaw's Modlin airport by

2030

(Adds background, quotes throughout)

By Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk

WARSAW, July 8 (Reuters) - Ryanair said demand

for travel this summer was showing no signs of cooling, with

strong bookings and rising ticket prices, even as a severe

heatwave recently engulfed Europe, Chief Executive Michael

O'Leary said on Tuesday.

O'Leary reaffirmed the Irish low-budget airline's May

forecast, noting it expects to recover most, but not all, of the

7% decline in average fares recorded last year as consumers

grappled with high interest rates.

"Bookings into summer 2025 are strong, prices are

rising," he said, adding that demand for destinations such as

Italy, Greece, Spain, the Balearics, the Canaries and Morocco

remains robust.

The CEO also said market consensus anticipates Ryanair's

after-tax profit for the first quarter ending in June to double,

stating, "We see no reason to alter or object to that consensus,

but we can't comment on that". The company is scheduled to

release its first-quarter results on July 21.

Addressing concerns over extreme weather, O'Leary

described heatwaves as a "temporary phenomenon" that does not

seem to be affecting travel patterns this summer.

O'Leary, whose airline sources almost all of its aircraft

from Boeing ( BA ), said he was hopeful that commercial aircraft

will be exempt from U.S. and EU tariffs, but admitted that

"nobody is really sure".

Speaking in Warsaw, O'Leary announced plans to treble the

number of passengers Ryanair serves at the city's Modlin airport

to more than 5 million a year by 2030.

The company plans to invest $400 million in Modlin and

double the number of aircraft based there to eight from four,

while still flying from the city's main airport, Okecie.

Air traffic in Modlin had been falling in the last three

years due to a dispute with Ryanair over fares, but O'Leary said

it would now be "the fastest growing airport in Poland".

As part of the deal, Modlin Airport has undertaken to

build at least four new passenger check-in desks and four new

parking stands by September 2027.