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Europe's largest low-cost carrier has been flying a skeleton
service since the COVID-19 pandemic closed down much of Europe
in March. It was set to fly 105,000 passengers on Wednesday,
almost as many as it flew in April and May combined.
O'Leary, one of the loudest advocates for a reopening of
European air travel from COVID-19 restrictions, said he was
hopeful the airline could go from 4.5 million passengers in July
to as many as 6 million in August, around half its normal level.
"It's a good start," O'Leary told Reuters in an interview after
the first 150 flights took off on time with all passengers
wearing face masks.
"If we have a strong July and August with lots of families
travelling on holidays ... and recognising they can do it
safely, I think we will see ... a much more stable return to
normal volumes from September onwards," he said.
Critics say a return to widespread tourism in Europe could
reverse major progress in tackling COVID-19.
Ireland's outgoing health minister said on Wednesday he found
himself "shouting at the radio" when another Ryanair executive
said it was safe to travel despite the government advising
against it.
O'Leary said he was confident Britain would this week announce
an opening of travel with the European Union, ahead of a court
case on Friday taken by Ryanair and rivals against the UK
government's 14-day quarantine.
"There is no scientific basis for it and we expect to get it
overturned," he said, adding Ireland's chief medical officer was
being "over-cautious" in advising against travel.
PRICING WEAK
O'Leary said bookings for the first couple of weeks of flights
in July were "very strong" with August "reasonably strong."
September and October are a bit weaker at the moment, he added,
as people wait to see how the situation develops.
Ticket prices have been weak for the summer and are likely to
remain so.
"Certainly, for the next 12 months you are going to see
lower-than-ever airfares, certainly on Ryanair," O'Leary said.
While passenger numbers are likely to return to 2019 levels next
year, it will probably take until 2022 or 2023 before ticket
prices return to pre-pandemic levels, he predicted.
Ryanair has said it may cut up to 3,000 jobs among pilots and
cabin crew, but O'Leary said he was "reasonably hopeful but not
confident" it could agree pay cuts and changes to work practices
to avoid most of them.
Some unions in continental Europe are "are sticking their heads
in the sand," he said.
(Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Jason Neely
and Mark Potter)
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