Aer Lingus passenger numbers up

AER Lingus flew just over one million passengers last month – a 7.7% increase on the same period last year, but its long-haul numbers continue to suffer.

This news comes as Ryanair announces it has grown its fleet to 200 having taken delivery of a Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft.

Aer Lingus’s short-haul traffic grew 10% to 973,000 in August while long-haul continued to slump, dropping 8.3% to 116,000.

Capacity fell by 0.7%, dropping by almost 15% on long-haul.

These figures compare with the 19% increase in passenger numbers to 6.88 million announced by Ryanair last week.

However, Goodbody analyst Eamonn Hughes said the baggage fare increases announced last week by Ryanair highlight that yields remain under “intense pressure”. Otherwise, he said, he would “wonder whether the airline would be pursuing such material adjustments with the risk of attracting more than the normal level of hassle from consumer groups”.

From October 1 the fee for the first checked-in bag will increase from €10 to €20 on the website and from €20 to €30 at the airport. The second bag is now incurring a fee of €35 online and €70 at the airport.

Equipment has gone up by €10 to €40 on the internet and €50 at the airport and excess baggage fees have gone up €5 to €20 per kg.

Goodbody said raising fees will encourage more customers to carry-on, which will reduce handling costs for the airline.

And, it said, the higher fees will also allow the airline to defray some of the pressures evident on average fares, with yields or the prices a person pays for a flight anticipated to be down 20% in Q2 and 18.5% in Q3.

Meanwhile, British Airways said it will use planes freed up by the slump in business travel to start flying to longhaul leisure destinations such as Las Vegas, Jamaica and the Maldives.

Five of the six new routes that the London-based carrier will begin for its winter timetable are to holiday hotspots, including Sharm El-Sheikh on the Red Sea and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Initial bookings are very encouraging, said Richard Tams, head of British sales.

“We chose the routes carefully where we think demand will hold up,” Mr Tams said.

“We don’t normally have the aircraft available, so this has given us the opportunity to build some business there.”

Passenger numbers fell 2.8% in the five months through August.