Budget airline Ryanair today reported a year-on-year passenger rise of more than 45 per cent in February.
In a statement the airline said that it carried 1.29 million passengers last month compared with 886,320 in February the previous year, a rise of 45.7 per cent.
The airline claimed it has received a total of 15.34 million seat bookings from February 2002 to the February 2003.
Ryanair said it earned pre-tax profit of €47.8 million in the third quarter of last year, up 45 per cent from a year earlier. Revenues rose 37 per cent to €186 million and passenger numbers over the quarter increased by 46 per cent to 3.93 million.
Company chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary, said the latest passenger numbers confirmed Ryanair as one of the fastest growing low-cost operators in the business.
The rising passenger numbers will present Ryanair with more earnings potential from ancillary services, an important source of extra cash for a company that prides itself on no-frills travel.
In the last quarter of 2002, these revenues rose faster than passenger volumes, rising by 55 per cent to €28.5 million.