aer lingus Traffic Statistics – December 2010

Dublin & London, 10 January 2011: Aer Lingus Group plc (“Aer Lingus”), today announced traffic statistics for the month of December 2010.

Aer Lingus’ booked load factor in December 2010 improved by 2.7 points on December 2009 to 74.6%. Short haul booked load factor was 73.2%, an increase of 3.7 points on December 2009, with capacity decreasing by 31.9% as a result of weather-related disruptions and planned year-on-year reductions at London Gatwick, Dublin and Cork. Long haul booked load factor was 76.6%, a decrease of 0.2 points on December 2009, with capacity decreasing by 6.6%.

Aer Lingus’ total booked passenger numbers in December 2010 were 572,000, a decrease of 25.3% compared to December 2009. Short haul booked passengers were 504,000, a 27.3% decrease on December 2009 while long haul booked passengers in December 2010 were 68,000, a decrease of 6.8% on December 2009.

In December 2010, in common with many other carriers, Aer Lingus experienced poor weather conditions leading to flight cancellations and significant disruptions to operations. As a result passengers carried were 8% below the level of booked passengers.