7th May 2014 10:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - Low-cost airline easyJet PLC Wednesday said it flew more passengers and filled more of its planes in April compared with the previous year thanks to this year's late Easter, but its passenger numbers also grew strongly over the 12 months to the end of April.
The airline said it flew nearly 5.8 million passengers in April, up from nearly 5.3 million a year earlier, while its load factor, a measure of how many seats it fills on its planes, rose to 89.8%, from 86.7%. Easter, a key trading period for airlines like easyJet as more people fly over holiday periods, fell in April this year and in March in 2013.
However, easyJet also showed strong growth for the rolling 12 months to the end of April, which balances out factors like Easter. It flew 62.4 million passengers in the latest 12 month period, compared with 59.9 million in the previous 12 months. Its load factor was 89.7%, up from 89.1%.
easyJej shares were up 1.7% at 1,696.00 pence Wednesday morning, one of the biggest gains on the FTSE 100.
Irish airline Aer Lingus Group PLC said Wednesday that its passenger numbers and traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres also rose in April, thanks to Easter and the launch of new long-haul services to San Francisco and Toronto, although its figures for the year to date were up to a lesser extent.
The flag carrier flew 751,000 passengers in April, up from 701,000 a year earlier. Its traffic rose 18.6%, while its capacity was only up 7.9%, meaning its load factor rose 6.9%.
In 2014 so far, Aer Lingus has flown 2.7 million passengers, the same number as in the first four months of 2013. Its traffic has risen 3.7%, and a 2.0% drop in capacity means its load factor is up to 71.8%, from 70.6%.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
easyJet