Ryanair expects to have 180 million passengers a year within a decade as its growth plans gain momentum.

That is 20 million higher than the Irish airline's previous target. For 2015, it forecasts 105 million.

The revised figure comes as Ryanair posted a 37% rise in half-yearly pre-tax profit to €1.23bn (£879m), excluding exceptional items.

Passenger numbers rose 13% to 58.1 million and revenue jumped 14% to just over €4bn.

The results covered the six months to 30 September.

The company also said that profits for 2015 would be at the upper end of the €1.175m to €1,225m range, but would depend on bookings for the last three months of the year.

The load factor - a measure of how full each flight was - rose by four percentage points to 93% and Ryanair became the first EU airline to carry more than 10 million passengers in a month in July.

Michael O'Leary, chief executive, said: "We have enjoyed a bumper summer due to a very rare confluence of favourable events including stronger sterling, adverse weather in northern Europe, reasonably flat industry capacity and further savings on our unhedged fuel."

He said there could be a price war next year and expected fares would fall by 4% in the first three months.
"We are already reducing our prices... and in recent weeks we have seen most airlines reduce their prices."

Source: BBC