Wizz Air traffic jumps 20.4% in August

4th Sep 2018 09:49

(Sharecast News) - Low-cost airline Wizz Air posted a 20.4% jump in August passenger numbers on Tuesday as the load factor ticked higher.Passenger numbers last month rose to 3.48m from 2.89m in August last year, while the load factor - which gauges how full the flights are - edged up to 95.6% from 95.4%.On a rolling 12-month basis, passenger numbers were up 22.7% to 32.29m and the load factor increased to 91.8% from 91.1%.Wizz said it added 20 new routes in August to and from Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Kosovo, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania.Back in July, Wizz posted a 14% drop in first-quarter profit as it took a hit from air traffic disruptions and the timing of Easter. In a trading update for the three months to 30 June, the company said pre-tax profit fell to €52.1m from €60.5m in the same period a year ago. Wizz pinned the blame on air traffic controller strikes and shortages. It said the unprecedented number of disruptions caused mainly by European air traffic control issues led to a 426% rise in cancellations to 145.Total revenue during the period was up 17.9% to €553.4m, with ticket revenues up 24.5% to €330.4m and ancillary revenues 9.3% higher at €223m. Meanwhile, passenger numbers rose 19.7% in the quarter to 8.6 million.At 1000 BST, the shares were up 1% to 3,193p.