IRISH low-fares airline Ryanair said it expected half-year profits to come in ahead of market expectations as more people took to the skies and booked tickets over the internet.

The group, which operates a service from Teesside to Dublin also said the strength of sterling against the euro had boosted revenues.

Increased use of the Internet to book tickets had allowed Ryanair had to offer even lower fares, so boosting passenger numbers.

The success of Ryanair.com has led to higher-than-expected savings in travel agent commissions and computerised reservation system charges. The introduction of a further five 737s, with 45 per cent more seats, had further allowed the airline to cut its operating cost per seat