Fastjet has best trading month

Low-cost African airline Fastjet (LON:FJET) has had its best month of trading ever, with passenger sales in Tanzania in May comfortably ahead of previous records.

The company racked up revenues of more than US$1.8mln in Tanzania last month, a number up by around one-half since the start of the year.

Revenue per passenger has shot up by 62% since the beginning of 2013 while the load factor, which measures how full each flight is, was up 11% in May from April’s level. Encouragingly, the company said this performance is expected to continue into June.

Fastjet said it is operating profitably in Tanzania, more than covering direct operating costs. It is expecting to start flights on international route from Dar es Salaam shortly.

“May has been an excellent month for the group. The Tanzanian operation has seen a real growth in passenger sales revenues. This suggests that we have captured the hearts and minds of the Tanzanian public and I am delighted that we are now firmly the ‘airline of choice’ on all of the routes we currently operate,” said Fastjet chief executive, Ed Winter.

In Ghana, the company’s Fly540 operation saw the number of passengers booked to travel rise 11% in May from April’s level. Passenger levels in May were up 52% year-on-year, while revenues are up 25% on May 2012.

There is also good news from Angola, which is traditionally a more challenging place in which to operate.

Fastjet’s Angolan business has achieved its highest passenger sales figure since the start of operations in January 2011 with a 63% increase in passenger numbers in the last five months, and a corresponding revenue increase of 66.5% between January and May. Month on month passenger growth between April and May was 38%.

The company is looking to increase the scale of its operations as soon as practical.

“Our continued growth in both Angola and Ghana is enormously pleasing. Simply put, we are carrying more passengers, enjoying increased yields and an ever improving level of dispatch reliability in each of these operations,” Winter said.

“Since the start of the year, we have grown the business substantially in the face of challenges. Our prospects in each of our operations look very positive and our aim to become Africa’s first low cost carrier is well on its way to becoming a reality,” he added.