EasyJet to break 2m barrier
EASYJET is on course to smash through the 2m passenger barrier for the first time this month after cementing its place as the Britain's second favourite airline above British Airways.
Traffic figures out today showed the low-cost airline flew 1.99m people in March, below Ryanair's 2.1m but above BA's 1.93m on short-haul flights across the UK and Europe.
EasyJet's performance last month represents a 16.6% jump on a year ago. Load factor on its flights - a measure of the number of seats sold - edged ahead to 87%.
Chief executive Ray Webster said: 'Both our passenger numbers and load factor continue to show steady improvement reflecting the reliability and sustainability of our low-cost model in a growing and competitive market.'
The Luton-based airline is almost certain to reach the 2m mark this month, given the Easter holidays and signs the British public are still travelling despite fears of a renewed terrorist threat following the Madrid bomb.
The milestone will come less than two years after easyJet broke through the onem barrier in August 2002, just after Irish rival Ryanair achieved the same goal.
Ryanair unnerved the City with its first profits warning for 15 years in January, but easyJet has been able to hold fares steady despite a slowdown in capacity growth compared with 12 months ago.
