December weather hit Flybe passenger numbers
12.02.11
Flybe flew 1.2% fewer passengers in its third quarter to the end of December as it was forced to cancel nearly 2000 flights during the pre-Christmas snow chaos. The regional budget airline reported passenger numbers of 1.7 million in the three months, compared with 1.72 million a year earlier. But it estimates passengers would have been 4.8% higher with the weather effect stripped out.
A boost from additional charges and ticket sales growth helped revenues rise 1.5% in the quarter despite the disruption. Flybe, which has already revealed a £6 million hit from the December snow, said extra charges on top of standard ticket sales surged 11.2% to £22.8 million in the quarter.
Flybe said January had got off to a good start against Britain's big freeze seen a year earlier with the number of seats flown up 9% last month, or 2% with the weather effect stripped out. Its passenger revenue per seat rose 4.1% in the third quarter and remained stable in January.
Jim French, chairman and chief executive of Flybe, said plans for expansion into continental Europe were ‘progressing well’.
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