Flybe chops capacity and boosts revenue
Flybe reduced the number of empty seats on flights and increased its average revenue per passenger by almost 10% after chopping 6% from its capacity in the fourth quarter
It load factor rose 6.8 percentage points to 73.5%, which the airline described as ‘a strong performance for the winter season’.
Estimated passenger revenue per seat was up 9% to £50.84.
Passenger numbers during the fourth quarter were up 3.7%.
However, the airline was forced to cancel almost 1,000 flights due to ‘extremely’ bad weather in February and March, costing it around £4 million in lost revenue and additional care and assistance costs.
The airline said its strategy to reduce capacity to focus on profitable flying will continue into the new financial year, with a reduction of almost 8% this summer. As a result, it is estimating a 7.5% increase in passenger revenue per seat.
So far, it has sold 21% of its seats for the first half of the year, compared with 20% this time last year.
Chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener said: "The Flybe strategy as set out in our business plan to reduce the fleet size is delivering higher load factors and revenue per seat.
"The drive to reduce costs is continuing, given added impetus by the rise in fuel prices and lower value of sterling.
"Despite these headwinds, the foundations are being put in place to strengthen the business and we remain confident that our strategy will continue to improve performance as we go into the new financial year."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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