(Alliance News) - Ryanair Holdings PLC and Wizz Air Holdings PLC on Tuesday said passenger traffic improved in June from a year before as the budget airlines continued to benefit from significant post-pandemic travel demand.
Dublin-based Ryanair said it carried 17.4 million passengers last month, up 9.4% from 15.9 million a year before and by 2.4% from 17.0 million in May. The load factor was 95%, unchanged from June 2022 but up slightly from 94% in May.
Gerald Khoo, analyst at Liberum, noted this was the first month in which load factors did not improve against the same month in the previous year since the recovery from the pandemic started.
However, despite load factors remaining slightly below pre-pandemic levels, Khoo noted that overall passenger numbers remain well above. Consequently, the Liberum analyst said he is "not concerned about the pace of recovery" for Ryanair.
On a rolling 12-month basis to June, Ryanair said it carried 173.4 million passengers with a 94% load factor, up from 134.5 million with an 86% load factor the year before.
Smaller Budapest-based rival Wizz Air carried 5.3 million passengers in June, up 23% from 4.3 million a year before and 6.0% from 5.0 million in May.
Wizz Air's planes were 92.2% full last month, up from 86.1% in June 2022 and 90.2% in May.
On a rolling 12-month basis to June, Wizz Air carried 60.5 million passengers with an 89.4% load factor, up from 44.4 million with an 81.8% load factor the year previous.
Alexander Paterson, an analyst at Peel Hunt, commented that although growth remains rapid for Wizz Air, the airline remains "slightly below" its expectations. This, he said, suggests that more growth will be required during the off-peak winter months for Wizz Air to meet forecasts.
"Low-cost airlines are having a whale of a time thanks to the sharp rebound in travel demand. The decision to expand fleet capacity during the cost-of-living crisis was a calculated risk and the move is now paying off," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
For AJ Bell's Mould, strike action will be the key hurdle to clear for both airlines moving forward, particularly over the all-important summer period.
"Air traffic controllers downing tools caused 160,000 Ryanair customers to suffer from cancelled flights in June and further ATC strikes are planned in July. There are additional airport and airline-related strikes threatened for the coming months which could see big delays or cancellations, causing further mayhem," Mould said.
"The frequent recurrence of these issues means a lot of travellers have become used to the problems that come with flying, but they still go ahead and book flights. Airlines will be thankful for that, although they would prefer a much smoother experience for the customer."
By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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