Aer Lingus revenue falls, losses widen on threatened strike

Threatened strike action at Aer Lingus is being partly blamed for widening losses at the airline, as the carrier saw its revenue fall in the first quarter of the year.

Operating losses at the firm rose to €48.5 million, from €45.5 million a year earlier, with passenger revenue down 3.9 per cent to €236.6 million for the period.

Although the action was withdrawn before St Patrick’s weekend, the airline said it forced flight cancellations and aircraft hire-ins.

The airline said the later than usual Easter period had also hampered results in the three month period ended March 31st.

Short haul fare revenue was hit the hardest, falling by 7.2 per cent to €138.8 million, with the number of passengers carried down by 4.1 per cent.

However there were some positive notes for Aer Lingus. Retail revenue rose by 6 per cent, with spend per passenger up 10.1 per cent. The decline in passenger traffic was also partly offset by contract flying activities undertaken by the airline.

"Our short haul operation remains an attractive and profitable business despite the continuation of intense price competition in European markets," chief executive Christoph Mueller said. "Forward trends are positive, especially in long haul. We continue to expect that our operating result for 2014 will be broadly in line with 2013."