LONDON (Alliance News) - Budget airline easyJet PLC reported Tuesday strong growth in passenger numbers in October but a decline in load factor, whilst smaller peer Wizzair saw an improvement in both.
Passenger numbers at FTSE 100-listed easyJet rose 14% to 8.6 million from 7.5 million the year prior in October. Despite this, load factor - the number of passengers as a proportion of seats available - dropped to 90.5% from 92.5% the year before.
For the rolling year ended October, easyJet passenger numbers have increased 11% to 89.5 million from 80.9 million the same period the year prior. Over the last 12 months, the load factor has also remained broadly stable at 92.7% compared to 92.8% for the same period the year before.
For smaller, Central and Eastern Europe-focused peer Wizzair, passenger numbers jumped to 3.1 million from 2.7 million the year prior. For the FTSE 250-listed carrier, load factor also improved to 94.0% from 92.1% the year before.
During the month, Wizz Air added it had also seen a "significantly improved" operational performance. Only 12 flights were cancelled in October, with 83% of flight on time.
For the rolling year ended October, Wizz Air passenger numbers rose to 33.2 million from 27.5 million for the same period the year prior. Load factor also improved to 92.1% from 91.4% for the same period the year before.
Shares in easyJet were 0.9% higher at 1,236.00 pence on Tuesday, Wizz Air 2.1% higher at 2,673.00 pence.
Wizz Air (WIZZ)
easyJet (EZJ)
