Aer Lingus passengers rise 2.7%

Aer Lingus said that it carried 972,000 passengers in May, an increase of 2.7 per cent compared to the same month a year ago.

The airline said that during the month passenger numbers of short haul flights rose 6 per cent. However, this was offset by a 21.1 per cent decline in passengers on transatlantic flights.

Aer Lingus’ overall load factor in the month decreased by 2.4 points compared to May 2008. The load factor on short-haul flights declined 2.2 points to 78.1 per cent while capacity rose by 14.9 per cent.

The load factor on long-haul services was 66.2 per cent, down 5 points versus the same month a year ago.

Capacity on transatlantic flights fell by 19.3 per cent, the airline said.