Bumpy landing for easyJet

BUDGET airline easyJet has revealed that it suffered a decline in passenger numbers in February.

The low-cost airline, which runs routes to 16 airports from Edinburgh, carried 3.01 million passengers in February 2009, 6.8 per cent fewer than a year earlier.

However, its load factor – a key measure of a profitability of an airline – increased by 2.4 per cent to 87 per cent.

The airline attributed the decline in passenger numbers to measures put in place last summer to withdraw less profitable flights in the wake of rising fuel costs.

In the 12 months to the end of February, easyJet has carried 44.4m passengers, a 13.9 per cent increase on the same period last year.

British Airways warned yesterday that it expects revenues for its full year to fall by five per cent.