EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands (Reuters) — Irish low-cost airline Ryanair expects to double its number of passengers to 100 million in five years' time, its chief executive told an industry conference yesterday."We are still the fastest-growing airline in Europe and I expect that we double from 50 million passengers this year to 100 million passengers in five years' time," CEO Michael O'Leary told the conference.

On Wednesday, Ryanair launched a price war against other European airlines, selling 10 million seats for between $10 and $20 ($20-$40) in its biggest-ever promotion.

The airline also plans to increase its number of bases over the next five years, O'Leary said. "The number of bases will be doubled from 19 or 20 to about 40," he said.