Ryanair has reported a better-than-expected 24 per cent increase in June passenger traffic.

The airline carried 2.27 million passengers last month, raising load factor - the proportion of seats filled - to 87 per cent of capacity from 79 per cent in June 2003.

Ryanair said the June performance matched predictions.

"These figures are in line with our previous guidance of increased load factors and declining yields through the summer," said a spokeswoman.

Analysts said the figures were encouraging.

Mr Stuart Draper of Dolmen Securities said: "I think this summer we can expect yield (average fare) erosion to come in at the lower end of the current guidance of between 5-10 per cent."

"As a result, there's scope for upward revisions to this year's earnings forecasts if this trend continues," he added.

Mr Draper said increased demand meant Ryanair would not need to cut its ticket prices as severely as it has predicted.

Ryanair has been reducing ticket prices to fill seats since the start of the year. Last month the carrier said it expected fares to fall between 5 per cent and 10 per cent in the first half of its current year, which began on April 1st, and between 10 per cent and 20 per cent in the second half.