LONDON (Alliance News) - Flybe Group PLC on Wednesday said its passenger numbers grew in the first quarter of its financial year, driving up its revenue even as its load factor fell due to a rise in capacity.
The budget carrier said its passenger numbers rose by 9.8% in the quarter to the end of June to 2.1 million, which helped push passenger revenue up to GBP147.7 million, up around 12% from the GBP132.3 million it reported a year earlier.
Flybe said its load factor in the quarter decreased by 1.7 percentage points to 74.1%, but capacity in the quarter rose by 12% to 2.8 million seats. Revenue per seat also fell, down 1.6% to GBP52.12.
"As we enter the next phase of our transformation, Flybe has again delivered revenue and passenger growth in the quarter, demonstrating the strength of our core business. We carried significantly more customers than the same time last year and maintained our industry-leading punctuality levels," said Flybe Chief Executive Saad Hammad.
Flybe shares were up 4.6% to 74.25 pence in early trade, one of the best performers in the FTSE All-Share.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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