Aer Lingus passengers rise 10.9% in April

Aer Lingus said today it carried 945,000 passengers in April, a 10.9 per cent increase from a year earlier.

Aer Lingus’s passenger grew by 10.9 per cent in April as an increase in short-haul traffic offset a decline in transatlantic flights.

The airline said it carried 945,000 passengers April compared to the same month last year. Short-haul passenger numbers grew 13.2 per cent while long-haul numbers declined 5.8 per cent.

Aer Lingus recorded a 4.1 per cent to 74.6 per cent increase in its average load factors – the number of seats filled on each aircraft – due in part to a reduction in the number of routes.

The load factor on short-haul routes rose 3.1 points to 77.5 per cent. Transatlantic flights achieved an average load factor of 70.4 per cent, up from 66.1 per cent a year earlier.

Aer Lingus’s long-haul services remained under pressure and recorded a 20.9 per cent decline in passengers to 87,000, from 110,000 a year ago. During the first three months of the year long-haul passenger numbers declined 14.6 per cent.

The airline’s transatlantic routes have faced three main issues; the economic downturn, the weakness of the dollar and intense competition.

Capacity on these routes last month was down almost a quarter (19.5 per cent) compared to last year. The decline in short-haul services was less acute, dropping 5.1 per cent year-on-year to 748,000.

Aer Lingus recorded an overall marginal increase in its average load factors – the number of seats filled on each aircraft – due to a reduction in the number of routes, although the load factor on transatlantic flights did dip.

The load factor on short-haul routes rose 0.6 points to 78.6 per cent. Transatlantic flights achieved an average load factor of 71.5 per cent, down from 72.2 per cent a year earlier.

Aer Lingus said it had decreased its capacity on short-haul flights by 13.1 per cent. For short-haul flights the capacity decline was 5.7 per cent and on long-haul flights it was down 23.3 per cent.