Aer Lingus today announced a slight fall in traffic during the month of October.
In a statement issued today, the group said passenger numbers fell 0.2 per cent from a year earlier to 902,000 for the month.
The number of passengers taking longer routes fell by 25.7 per cent to 81,000, while those on short-haul routes increased by 3.3 per cent on the same month last year.
Aer Lingus's load factor last month rose 1.3 percentage points to 74.6 per cent from a year earlier, while capacity was reduced by 10 per cent.
The long-haul load factor was 70.1 per cent, up 1.3 points on last year, while load factor on short-haul routes was 77 per cent, a fall of just 0.1`points.
The carrier posted a €93 million loss for the first six months of this year, and it is seeking to implement a cost-reduction plan to cut 676 jobs and save €97 million.
Earlier this week, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary yesterday said the airline would post a loss of about €150 million in the second half of the current financial year as it continues to lower its fares to stimulate consumer demand.
However, Ryanair will be profitable for the year as a whole. The airline guided that its net profit would be at the “lower end” of the €200-€300 million range for the 12 months to the end of March 2010.
Ryanair announced a net profit of €387 million for the six months to the end of September. This was 80 per cent higher than the previous year following a decline in fuel costs.