Irish carrier Aer Lingus made an operating profit of €18.8 million between April and June this year, a significant improvement on the €18.2 million operating loss over the same period in 2009.
Despite the rally, over the first half of the year the airline recorded an operating loss of €19 million, although this is an 80% reduction on the operating loss of H1 2009.
Christoph Mueller, Aer Lingus' CEO, said: "This performance has been driven by strong unit revenue growth coupled with a significant improvement in our cost base."
The airline has reduced its operating costs by 14% for the first half of 2010, compared to H1 last year.
The average yield per passenger rose by 14.3%, but the number of passengers carried by the airline fell by 16.6% in the first hald of 2009, compared to H1 2010.
"This operating result was achieved despite the adverse impact of volcanic ash disruption in H1 2010," said Mueller, "as well as the continuation of difficult conditions in our key Irish market where unemployment is currently at 13.7%."
Passenger numbers through Dublin Airport have declined by 16% compared to the first six months of 2009.
Earlier this year, Aer Lingus was forced to suspend flights from Shannon to Boston and New York, due to "significant losses".
www.aerlingus.com