Irish flag carrier, Aer Lingus released its December figures yesterday. The airline said that the winter snow had disrupted services causing a 25.3% slump in traffic during December. Flight cancellations because of the weather meant the number of passengers carried was 8% below the level of booked passengers, the group said.
That said total booked passenger numbers fell to 572,000 from 766,000 in December 2009, with short haul down 27.3% to 504,000 and long haul 6.8% down on last year at 68,000.
The booked load factor improved by 2.7% to 74.6%, on short haul routes the carrier saw a 3.7% increase to 73.2%, though capacity fell 31.9% due to icy conditions and planned year-on-year reductions at Gatwick, Dublin and Cork. Meanwhile, long haul booked load factor decreased by 0.2% to 76.6%, with capacity falling by 6.6%.
Taking the weather out of the mix is important; the figure to concentrate on is the fall in total booked passenger numbers on short haul routes. A decrease of 27.3% is hugely significant and we should be under no illusions as to the problems that Aer Lingus is facing. The general problems with the Irish domestic economy are beginning to show through in month figures for Aer Lingus.
December should have been a boom month for Aer Lingus bookings, even if the aircraft never left the tarmac. The outlook is not good.