GB Airways Purchase Lifts easyJet Passenger Numbers

Low-cost airline easyJet yesterday said it carried 3.73 million passengers in March, an increase of 20.5 per cent on the same month a year earlier.

The performance reflected the addition of former British Airways subsidiary GB Airways and a 13.7 per cent improvement by the existing easyJet operation.

The Luton-based carrier unveiled the pounds 103 million acquisition of GB last year, but flights continued to operate under the BA brand until the end of March.

GB is primarily a Gatwick-based operator, covering destinations across southern Europe and northern Africa with a fleet of 15 Airbus aircraft. GB carried 212,394 passengers in March, a fall of almost 11 per cent on a year earlier.

EasyJet continued to expand, with passenger numbers excluding GB Airways showing an improvement to 3.52 million in the month.

Load factor, which measures the number of seats filled, improved to 87.3 per cent from 84.4 per cent on easyJet flights. There was a similar improvement to 90.2 per cent for GB.

EasyJet recently braced investors for half-year profits disappointment after warning of a potential pounds 45 million hike in fuel costs.

It said last month that forward prices for fuel had risen from EUR840 per tonne to EUR1,000 per tonne since February 7.

The no-frills airline also said it was unlikely to be able to combat the rising cost of oil through "revenue improvements and cost actions".

Analysts said the passenger figures were helped by an earlier Easter.

Meanwhile Irish airline Aer Lingus, which has operations out of Birmingham, said its total passenger numbers grew by 15.4 per cent in March compared to the same period in 2007, comprising a 15.7 per cent increase on short-haul and a 13.4 per cent jump on long haul.

It said the March load factor on short haul performed strongly, increasing to 78 per cent from 76.9 per cent in 2007, despite a 22.6 per cent increase in capacity for the same period.

Long-haul load factor was down to 72.2 per cent for March with capacity for the month increasing by 31.5 per cent, reflecting the introduction of the two new aircraft and the launch of three new routes.

Andrew Fitchie, an analyst at Collins Stewart stockbrokers, said: "Most of the European major airlines have now reported March traffic data, and with the exception of British Airways the picture is unanimously strong, as expected.

"However, it won’t be until April’s data that we’ll be able to see the true picture of current industry demand."

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