Aer Lingus reports record passenger numbers of over 11 million for 2014

Aer Lingus Group plc has announced its traffic statistics for the month of December and the full year 2014.

For the first time Aer Lingus carried over 11 million passengers in a single year. The total number of passengers during 2014 was 11.1 million, including Aer Lingus Regional. This figure is up 3.2% compared to 10.7 million passengers in 2013.

The overall load factor for the year 2014 also increased, up 0.6 percentage points to 79%.

During the month of December the total number of passengers carried, including Aer Lingus Regional, was 705,000 down 3.8% compared to the same month in 2013 reflecting a planned reduction in short haul capacity.

Long haul traffic increased by 20% to 102,000 passengers in December 2014, up from 85,000 in the same month in 2013.

Short haul traffic for December 2014 was down 8.2%, with 517,000 short haul passengers carried compared to 563,000 in December 2013. As in November 2014, the reduction in short haul capacity during December relates to planned network adjustments to protect margins given seasonal demand conditions.