NCB cautious over Aer Lingus future

DESPITE passenger numbers increasing by almost 8% in June, NCB Stockbrokers says it is cautious about Aer Lingus’s prospects beyond the summer.

Aer Lingus said yesterday that passenger numbers on short haul routes grew 7.8% in June, compared with the same month last year. It said long haul numbers grew 6.7%.

The load factor, or proportion of seats filled, however, fell to 81.5% in June from 82.2% a year earlier.

The number of people carried increased to 958,000.

NCB analyst Neil Glynn said the group continues to perform in line with expectations, and summer demand levels remain robust on the whole.

“However, we remain cautious beyond the peak summer period and retain concerns over Q4 traffic in particular,” he said.

Aer Lingus shares gained 4.8% yesterday, however, the stock has declined 41% this year.

Meanwhile, EasyJet, Europe’s second-biggest discount airline, rose the most in more than five months in London trading after the purchase of GB Airways and more planes led to a 20% increase in passengers.

EasyJet flew 4.11 million travellers in June, compared with 3.44 million a year earlier.

The load factor, or proportion of seats filled, gained 0.1 percentage point to 86.9%.

The British airline and Ryanair, its larger discount competitor, may be winning additional customers because people are trading down from more expensive network carriers as record fuel costs boost ticket prices.