Long-haul passenger numbers at Aer Lingus plunge by 25%

By Niamh Hennessy

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

LONG-HAUL passenger numbers at Aer Lingus plunged by a quarter last month as ferry numbers showed an increase.

The airline, which is deep in negotiations on cost-cutting measures, said long-haul passenger numbers plunged 25% to 72,000 last month, compared with the same month last year. Short-haul, however, performed strongly, showing a 9% increase to 704,000.

The airline’s overall load factor, a measure of seats filled in the month was 71%, a drop of 1.3 points.

Davy analyst Stephen Furlong said: "Overall, these figures are a little disappointing, but the key as ever is the implementation of the cost programme.
"Aer Lingus may have to look to reduce capacity – possibly by two long-haul aircraft and four or more short-haul aircraft."

Mr Furlong also said Ryanair has underperformed this year, principally on the back of unit revenue concerns and uncertainty regarding the level of growth in the business. He said that in addition, it faces tougher fuel comparables next year.

Passenger charges at Dublin Airport are set to rise next year after the Commission for Aviation Regulation published itsfinal determination from 2010 to 2014.

However, Davy pointed out it is up to the Dublin Airport Authority to decide ultimately what the charges will be.

Meanwhile, ferry passenger numbers through all Ireland ports increased by 2% to just over 1.8 million during the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. The numbers fell slightly, however, in the first nine months of the year, according to figures from the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO).

The number of cars carried also rose during the same period by 2%. There was a 30,000 increase in the number of people travelling to Britain in the quarter, up 2%.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, December 08, 2009