LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Michael O’Leary is cranking up the mind-games. A week after easyJet (EZJ.L) asked shareholders for 1.2 billion pounds to bolster its balance sheet and revealed a spurned takeover approach, the chief executive of arch-rival Ryanair (RYA.I) is laying out his plans for domination of Europe’s skies. The Irishman on Thursday raised his long-term passenger forecasts by 12.5%, predicting 225 million “guests” a year by 2026, compared to 149 million in the year before the pandemic. Citi analysts reckon that will take Ryanair’s market share to 20% from 13% two years ago. That puts the spotlight on 5 billion euro easyJet and slightly larger rival Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), widely reported to be easyJet’s mystery suitor. With Ryanair on a charge, there’s more pressure on the pair to join forces. That might even be to O’Leary’s advantage. Wizz’s ultra-low-cost model is at odds with easyJet’s slightly plusher offering. A merger could make Wizz less efficient, or at least cause CEO Jozsef Varadi to take his eye off the ball. (By Ed Cropley) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Michael O’Leary is cranking up the mind-games. A week after easyJet (EZJ.L) asked shareholders for 1.2 billion pounds to bolster its balance sheet and revealed a spurned takeover approach, the chief executive of arch-rival Ryanair (RYA.I) is laying out his plans for domination of Europe’s skies. The Irishman on Thursday raised his long-term passenger forecasts by 12.5%, predicting 225 million “guests” a year by 2026, compared to 149 million in the year before the pandemic. Citi analysts reckon that will take Ryanair’s market share to 20% from 13% two years ago. That puts the spotlight on 5 billion euro easyJet and slightly larger rival Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), widely reported to be easyJet’s mystery suitor. With Ryanair on a charge, there’s more pressure on the pair to join forces. That might even be to O’Leary’s advantage. Wizz’s ultra-low-cost model is at odds with easyJet’s slightly plusher offering. A merger could make Wizz less efficient, or at least cause CEO Jozsef Varadi to take his eye off the ball. (By Ed Cropley) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: Trains deal has messy endgame read more UK growth may be more of a worry than inflation read more Darktrace emits travelling salesman omens read more Yum China fries up bucket of consumption woes read moreAmazon pay rise shows changing inflation dynamics read more