Ryanair ups passenger forecast as bookings surge
Ryanair has raised its forecast for passenger numbers after a surge in bookings.
On Monday (July 26) Europe's biggest budget airline said it expected to fly between 90 and 100 million people over this financial year.
That was up from earlier forecasts of 80-100 million.
The Irish firm says it's seen an upturn in summer demand.
It says bookings should be back to about two-thirds of 2019 levels in July, compared to just one-third the month before.
Ryanair says the improvement has been particularly noticeable since Europe introduced digital travel certificates.
Fares are a problem though.
Over the latest quarter they were down by around a third on pre-crisis levels.
All told, that saw Ryanair post a loss for the first quarter of 273 million euros, or about $322 million.
Looking ahead, the airline said it was still impossible to provide a meaningful profit forecast for the fiscal year.
The company is cautiously expecting to post a small loss, or break even, before a big recovery next year.
Ryanair remains bullish about its long-term prospects, however, partly thanks to a strong balance sheet.
The airline says it has cash reserves of about $4.8 billion to draw on.
Ryanair shares rose around 3% in early trades on Monday.
