Aer Arann reports increase in passengers and turnover

Aer Arann, the regional airline owned by Pádraig Ó Céidigh, has said it had a turnover of €100 million last year, a 6 per cent increase over 2006, writes Colm Keena.

It said passenger numbers during the year were more than 1.15 million, a 10 per cent increase over 2006.

No profit figure was released by the company yesterday. As an unlimited company, Aer Arann does not have to file public accounts. The company said it spent €1 million in the UK during 2007 marketing the airline, which specialises in flights between the regions. It said its ex-UK numbers have increased by almost 3 per cent as a percentage of overall sales.

The company said the Galway-London route broke the 9,000 passengers per month barrier in August 2007 and has continued to improve, while its Waterford-London route broke the same barrier in the third quarter of 2007.

During 2007 and as part of a €171 million investment, the airline received two of 10 ATR 72-500 aircrafts it ordered in May 2006. By 2009 all of the airline's fleet will be new.

Aer Arann said the new aircraft was an "environmentally friendly" one, with 70 per cent lower fuel consumption than a jet on similar routes. It said one of its aircraft would use 550 kilos of fuel travelling from Dublin to Cardiff, whereas a Boeing 737-800 would use three times that much.