Aer Lingus passenger numbers fell in November

Aer Lingus passenger numbers fell by 5 percent last month when compared with November last year.
Short haul numbers decreased by 4.7 percent, while long haul passengers saw a bigger drop of 6.9 percent.
The company says the numbers are in line with their expectations and say they are not forecasting any improvement in short haul for the rest of the year due to heavily discounted fare offerings across Europe.
Our Business Editor Ian Guider says numbers are down because the airline has not lowered its prices in line with other carriers:
“Aer Lingus has been suffering on its short-haul routes, particularly between Ireland and the UK and Europe in the last couple of months” he said.
“It’s statement today is in a bit of contrast to what Ryanair came out with yesterday – it said its passenger numbers in November were up 5 percent, and if you look at the EasyJet numbers this morning they’re saying they were up 3.4 percent”.
“So a bit of weakness in Aer Lingus short-haul routes”.
“What it hasn’t done is what the likes of Ryanair has done – is to cut prices to try and get people on to the planes and try and fill them” he added.