Easy Jet Figures Take Off By 25%

British low-cost airline EasyJet said that its passenger numbers rose 25.2% in April from a year ago to 2.44 million.

The airline said its load factor - an indication of how many seats it has filled on flights - was 85.2%, 3.6 percentage points higher than a year ago.
The figures excluded the busy Easter break which fell in April a year earlier but was in March this year. 'Taking into account the effect of Easter falling in March rather than April this year, underlying market conditions have remained unchanged,' Chief Executive Ray Webster said in a statement.
EasyJet, which reports half-year results on May 24, has expanded aggressively in the past 12 months on short-haul European routes but remains under pressure from falling fares amid stiff competition and high fuel costs.
In March, the airline signalled a rise in first-half revenues per passenger and said operating margins were steady.
Low-cost rival Ryanair last week reported a 24% jump in April passengers. British Airways said last week April traffic was near flat because the timing of Easter drove down leisure travel although first and economy class business soared.