DUBLIN, Sept 12 Reuters Ryanair expects average fares to fall between 5 and 9 year on year in the three months to the end of September, but bookings have strengthened in recent weeks, group chief executive Michael O39;Leary said on Thursday.

In July, O39;Leary said fares might fall by over 10 during the period, the second quarter of Ryanair39;s financial year, but in August he said the fall was likely to be closer to 5.

It39;s too early to say where it will finish up, but it will be somewhere between 5 and 9, O39;Leary told investors at Ryanair39;s annual general meeting. We hope it will be toward the lower end of that range.

In recent weeks as the schools have gone back, we have seen a strengthening of bookings and the trend I think is modestly positive, he said.

Speaking to reporters before the AGM, O39;Leary said average fares for the remainder of the year were likely to be down somewhere between 5 and 10, but later said his 510 estimate was a reference to the JulySeptember quarter and that the airline had no visibility beyond that.

O39;Leary told reporters in London in August that average fares might be down 5ish on an annual basis in the six months to the end of March.

Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Sarah Young and Mark Potter

Source Reuters