Aer Lingus passenger numbers rose last month, according to its latest traffic statistics, with both long and short haul numbers showing gains.
The airline carried a total of 599,000 passengers during February, an increase of 7.5 per cent on the same month last year.
Short haul passengers accounted for 554,000 in February, an increase of 6.9 per cent on February 2011, the figures showed, while long haul passengers were 45,000, an increase of 15.4 per cent on same period last year.
Passenger load factor – a measure of occupancy on various routes – increased by 1 per cent to 67.3 per cent in February.
Short haul flown load factor was 68.5 per cent, up of 0.6 points on the same month last year, with overall capacity increasing by 5.9 per cent.
Long haul load factor was 64.9 per cent, an increase of 2.2 points on February 2011, with capacity increasing by 11.4 per cent.
Aer Lingus regional’s passenger numbers in February were 59,000, an increase of 22.9 per cent on February last year.
Ryanair yesterday announced it carried 4.47 million passengers last month, a drop of 2 per cent on same month last year. The budget airline said its load factor remained unchanged at 76 per cent.
“As previously guided, Ryanair’s 2011/12 winter traffic was expected to decline by approx 5 per cent as we sit up to 80 aircraft on the ground due to higher oil prices,” Ryanair’s director of communications Stephen McNamara said.