26th Jul 2018 11:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Flybe Group PLC on Thursday said it achieved a record load factor in the first quarter of its current financial year as progressed strongly on its fleet reduction strategy.
The regional airline said passenger revenue in the three months to the end of June rose 0.8% year-on-year to GBP176.8 million from GBP175.4 million, as revenue per seat increased 9.4% to GBP57.06 from GBP52.12. Passenger numbers also rose, by 3.3% to 2.5 million from 2.4 million the year before.
Seat capacity reduced 7.9%, however, to 3.1 million from 3.4 million, while the passenger yield declined 2.4% to GBP70.16 from GBP71.89.
The reduction came after Flybe implemented its new strategy to reduce fleet size and focus on profitable routes.
Reinvigorated pricing and marketing campaigns, together with capacity reductions, delivered a record 81.3% load factor in the first quarter, up 8.8 percentage points on 72.5% last year.
Looking forward, Flybe said it expects capacity to reduce by 8.5% in the first half of its financial year with 6% capacity reduction expected over the full-year.
"The improvement in our revenue per seat continues to demonstrate the success of our commercial strategy and the record load factors show that passengers value the benefits of regional connectivity with Flybe," said Chief Executive Christine Ourmieres.
"The year has started well. We are on track and looking forward to further progress towards sustainable profitability."
In the separate statement, Flybe said Senior Independent Director David Kappler will step down following the conclusion of the annual general meeting on September 13.
The company said Independent Non-Executive Director Liz McMeikan will take over from Kappler, while Independent Non-Executive Director Heather Lawrence will become the chair of the Audit Committee, also replacing Kappler.
Shares in Flybe were trading 2.6% higher on Thursday at 42.75 pence each.
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