easyJet reveals further growth in passenger numbers

6th Feb 2014 08:26

Low-cost airline easyJet saw passenger numbers rise 3.7 per cent over January versus the same period last year to just over four million. The load factor - the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of seats available - climbed one percentage point over January to 85.4% against last January. The January growth in passenger numbers continues a positive recent trend, with the airline having experienced a 3.5% rise in passenger numbers over December 2013.On a rolling 12-month basis to end January 2014 passenger numbers rose 3.6% to 61.47m, with the load factor rising 0.5 percentage points to 89.4% over the period.Last month easyJet revealed that revenue for its first quarter to December 2013 climbed 7.7% to £897m. It also indicated its first-half 2014 pre-tax loss will be in the range of £70m to £90m, compared with a loss of £61m a year earlier.easyJet said its first-quarter revenue performance was driven by "careful management of capacity, combined with the performance of allocated seating and the management of fees and charges". Its new system of seating allocation, which gives passengers the choice of paying to choose seats or have them allocated automatically, free of charge, has proved increasingly popular.In early morning trade easyJet shares were up 12p to 1671p, valuing the company at £6.63bn. KP