EasyJet and Ryanair soar above turbulence with passenger rise
Budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair yesterday reported jumps in passenger numbers for July.
EasyJet enjoyed a 7.7 per cent growth in passenger number for July compared to the previous year –around 6.5m compared to 5.976.
The passenger load factor increased by 1.3 percentage points to 92.2 per cent.
The budget airline saw its third quarter revenues to 30 June increase by 8.6 per cent to hit £1.2bn, as passenger numbers increased 9.4 per cent to 17.9m in total.
There was also a rise in capacity of 16 per cent at Gatwick after it acquired slots from Flybe.
Ryanair grew traffic by 300,000 to 9.15m, up four per cent from the same period in July 2013. The airline’s load factor increased from 88 per cent to 91 per cent.
Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said the rise was “thanks to our lower fares and our improving customer experience”, which included a mobile app, allocated seating and a free second small carry-on bag.