Aer Lingus passenger revenues up 10%

Traffic at Aer Lingus grew by more than 10 per cent over the first five months of the year according to figures from its parent, International Airlines Group (IAG).

Revenue passenger km - a measure of the airline’s traffic - grew 10.4 per cent to €6.4 million over the first five months of the year. Last month, the figure rose 5.7 per cent to €1.8 million.

Aer Lingus’s five-month growth was ahead of IAG’s overall revenue passenger increase, which was up 5.7 per cent at €92.3 million on a pro forma basis, that is, before factoring in the impact of its purchase last September of the Irish airline.

The volume of cargo carried by the airline was down 15 per cent. Chief executive, Stephen Kavanagh, recently explained that it shifted this business to focus more on niche, higher value products.

IAG, which also owns British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, carried 37.2 million passengers in the first five months of the year, 20.7 per cent more than during the same period in 2015.

Stripping out the impact of the Aer Lingus takeover, passenger numbers grew 8.1 per cent.