Ryanair and Aer Lingus passenger numbers rise in September

Ryanair and Aer Lingus both reported growth in seperate statements released on Monday.

Passenger numbers at Ryanair rose by 12 per cent to 9.55 million in September, versus the same month a year earlier according to new figures published today.

Figures released by International Consolidated Airlines’ Group (IAG), which took over Aer Lingus in August, show that revenue passenger km - a measure of passenger volume - at the Irish carrier rose 9.1 per cent in September to 1.78 million.

Ryanair’s numbers were down compared to August but were up from 8.49 million in September 2014.

Load factor - a measure of how full the flights are - was up 4 per cent to 94 per cent.

Ryanair said the record monthly numbers and load factors were due to lower fares, stronger forward bookings and the continuing success of the new customer experience programme.

Ryanair’s annual traffic for the first nine months of the year rose by 16 per cent to 97.3 million.

The airline hit a new milestone in July of this year when it carried more than 10 million passengers in a month for the first time.

The Aer Lingus numbers released by IAG shows that for the period from August 18th to the end of September, revenue passenger numbers were up 10.9 per cent at 2.7 million.

IAG’s overall figure show that 9.11 million people flew with its four airlines in September, 8.5 per cent more than during the same month last year.

The group’s other airlines are British Airways and, Iberia and Vueling, which are both based in Spain.