- 6.2 million passengers for Wizz Air, up 1%
- 8% rise in passengers for Ryanair
- Ryanair reports load factor of 96% in August
European budget carrier Wizz Air (WIZZ) reported a record 6.2 million passenger numbers for August despite operated seat capacity being down 0.4% year-on-year due to the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine-related groundings.
Wizz Air has seen a large number of aircraft grounded thanks to the issues. Wizz Air also reported an improved load factor of 95.4% compared to 94.1% last year.
Separately the European budget carrier said it had launched a new All you can fly annual membership scheme which sold out within 48 hours from launch.
Wizz Air shares were marginally higher at £13 in morning trading.
RECORD NUMBERS FOR RYANAIR
Budget airline Ryanair (RYAAY:NASDAQ) also reported record numbers for August with an 8% rise in passenger numbers to 20.5 million.
The company recently announced four new London routes which will start in winter 2024. Ryanair will now fly to Dubrovnik (Croatia), Linz (Austria), Reggio (Italy) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) from London Stansted.
Ryanair reported a load factor of 96% for August this year the same as last year.
In the month the budget airline operated over 111,800 flights.
‘NO PROBLEM GETTING BUMS ON SEATS’
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said: ‘Ryanair showed it isn’t having any problems getting bums on seats on its aircraft, reporting a record month in August for traffic. Load factor – the percentage of seats for which it has sold tickets – remained at 96%, a ratio which many airlines could only dream of achieving.
‘Given this momentum, it’s not surprising that the business is thinking more strategically. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it looks like Ryanair has its sights on copying EasyJet in setting up a package holiday business, having seen the success of its rival.
‘As always, with Ryanair it is all about the income. Rather than set up a package holiday arm to please consumers looking for a more convenient way of booking a week in the sun, media reports suggest Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary sees a bundled service as a way of charging higher fares.’
DISCLAIMER: Financial services company AJ Bell referenced in this article owns Shares magazine. The author of this article (Sabuhi Gard) and the editor (Tom Sieber) own shares in AJ Bell.
