Ryanair Holdings Plc has seen a “dramatic recovery” in bookings over the past two weeks as the easing of pandemic travel curbs across Europe encourages people to fly again.

The Irish low-cost carrier’s planes are flying about 75% full and could reach 90% of capacity by the peak of the summer high season, Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said at a briefing in Milan Wednesday.

Ryanair expects fares to remain “very low” through May before rising for summer, by which point it’s possible that a combination of strong demand and limited capacity could see them climb above pre-coronavirus levels, O’Leary said. Trends for next winter are difficult to predict, he said.

Eoin Treacy's view

Most people are hungering for a traditional vacation. I know I am. As the omicron variant flares out, demand for travel and other opening-up sectors is likely to continue to improve. There have been several times when it looked like a full recovery was possible, only for a new variant to pop up and create delays. The good news is the last one was much less serious, albeit much more transmissible, than its forerunners. That suggests the bounce back in demand will be stronger this time.

Ryanair is back testing the 2017 peaks and looks well supported for a successful breakout.

The US Global Jets ETF (JETS) is performing in line with Boeing and continues to bounce from the region of $20.

Stocks like Rolls Royce generate significant shares of their income from service agreements based on miles flown by aircraft. If the airline sector is recovering, that’s positive for the ancillaries too.