Passenger numbers up at easyJet

No-frills airline easyJet carried 4.11 million passengers in June, an increase of 19.5% compared with the same month last year.

The budget airline, based in Luton, said its load factor (a measure of how full its planes are) was at 86.9% - slightly ahead of the same month last year.

The group also said revenues per seat continued to improve and that almost 70% of the seats available for the second half of the year had been sold.

The news is positive for the airline industry which has been delivering bad news of late due to soaring oil prices of nearly $150 a barrel.

In a bid to boost sales, rival budget airline, Ryanair, recently offered 250,000 one-way seats for £10.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently warned the airline industry faced a grim outlook and passenger numbers would be affected by surging fuel costs and the deteriorating economic situation.

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, warned that most of Europe’s airlines will go bust if oil prices remain high.

As a result of soaring costs and the challenging economic climate, many airlines have gone bust this year including EOS and Maxjet.

Delta Air Lines, which is merging with Northwest Airlines, recently announced it would cut 2,000 jobs and reduce its capacity by 10% from 2008 levels year-on-year.

US airline, American Airlines, is to cut 7,000 jobs by the end of the year, which represents around 8% of its workforce. It is believed as many as 900 flight attendants, of its 18,000 cabin crew, could be affected.

US carrier United Airlines also plans to shed around 950 of its 6,600 pilots, which represents about 14%.

Story link: Passenger numbers up at easyJet