Passenger numbers up at Aer Lingus

The number of passengers flying with Aer Lingus rose by 4.1 per cent last month, according to new figures published this morning.

The total booked passenger number was 1,030,000, an increase of 1.8 per cent compared to August 2010.

Short haul booked passengers totalled 935,000, up 2.4 per cent, while long haul booked passengers totalled 95,000, a 4.0 decline on the same month a year earlier.

The airline's regional passenger numbers totalled 82,000, an increase of 46.4 per cent compared to August 2010.

The load factor - which represents the number of passengers as a percentage of total seats available - increased by 0.4 points to 86.1 per cent.

Short haul booked load factor was 84.6 per cent, an increase of 0.8 points on August 2010, with capacity increasing by 2.7 per cent.

Long haul booked load factor was 89.7 per cent, a decrease of 0.2 points the same month a year earlier, with capacity decreasing by 4 per cent as a result of Hurricane Irene at the end of August.