EasyJet has said that passenger traffic for October has risen 33 per cent from last year, as no-frills airlines continue to win market share from mainstream rivals.
Europe's second-biggest discount airline said it carried 716,017 passengers in October, up from 538,508 passengers a year ago.
But passenger load factor - a measure of success in filling the number of seats on offer - fell to 82.2 per cent from 85.4 per cent in the same month last year.
EasyJet and Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget carrier, have both recorded steadily increasing passenger numbers even after the September 11th attacks in the United States, which dashed the fortunes of many household names in the airline industry.
Both budget airlines have dramatically cut fares on their European routes in order to get travellers back into the sky following the attacks, when hijackers flew passenger jets into landmark buildings in New York and Washington.
In the last fortnight, easyJet and Ryanair have both reported rising profits, beating market forecasts and contrasting sharply with the British flag carrier British Airways which posted a 73 per cent slump in second-quarter operating profits yesterday.
Analysts have upgraded their recommendations on easyJet and the airline cashed in on investor confidence last week by announcing that a share sale would raise £93 million to fund further European expansion.
Shares in easyJet ended at 400p yesterday, the highest closing price since September 11th. The stock has outperformed the FTSE transport sector by nearly 60 per cent since the start of 2001.
PA