Ryanair sees strong summer bookings, CEO says heatwave not deterring travel

By Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk

WARSAW, July 8 (Reuters) - Ryanair RYA.I is seeing strong bookings and rising prices for its summer season, with no signs that customers are delaying holidays due to a recent heatwave, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday.

O'Leary, whose airline sources almost all of its aircraft from Boeing BA.N, said he was hopeful that commercial aircraft will be exempt from U.S. and EU tariffs, but admitted that "nobody is really sure".

He reaffirmed a May forecast that the Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, would recover most, but not all, of the 7% fall in average fares reported last year as consumers struggled with high interest rates.

"Bookings into summer 2025 are strong, prices are rising," O'Leary said.

"August looks strong and all of the big holiday destinations, so Italy, Greece, Spain, the Balearics, the Canaries, even Morocco are booking very strongly through the summer," he added.

"Heat waves I would say they're a temporary phenomenon," O'Leary said. "It doesn't tend to alter the travel patterns of people this summer."

O'Leary was speaking in Warsaw, where he 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.