easyJet passenger numbers rise in August

No frills airline easyJet said it carried 5.87m passengers in August, up six per cent from a year earlier.

The August load factor fell to 91.7 per cent from 92.2 per cent in the same month a year earlier. For the rolling 12 months it rose to 88.8 per cent from 87.2% during the same month in 2011.

The airline carried 58.13m passengers in the 12 months, an increase of 7.4% from 54.10m a year earlier, it said in a statement.

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Earlier this week easyJet said it would introduce allocated seating in its planes from November after trial showed passengers would rather avoid the seating free-for-all traditionally associated with budget airlines.

Shares in the group closed 544p on Wednesday.

CJ