Budget airline Easyjet posted a sharp rise in December passenger numbers today amid a stronger-than-expected pick-up in low-cost airline travel.
Shares in EasyJet, Europe's second-largest no-frills carrier, rose after it said December passenger traffic increased 28 per cent from a year earlier following an expansion of its European short-haul network.
EasyJet said it carried 2.135 million passengers in the month compared with 1.668 million a year previously. Its load factor - an indication of the proportion of seats it has filled on flights - was 80.8 per cent , up from 80.0 per cent a year earlier.
EasyJet shares rose 2.5 per cent to 208 pence. The stock is trading at its highest level since June 2004, but remains well below levels of up to 380 pence seen early last year before a profit warning.
The figures followed solid traffic statistics for the key December month from larger low-cost rival Ryanair and full-service carrier British Airways last week.
"It is pretty clear the traffic recovery has been solid. The low-cost market seems to be continuing quite well but the issue of course is at what price . . . the yield is going to be the key issue for investors," BNP Paribas analyst Mr Nick van den Brul said.
Airline yields - or average revenue per passenger kilometre - are falling as cut-throat competition in the European short-haul market forces carriers to lower ticket prices.