Cutting unprofitable long-haul routes and slashing its operation at Gatwick brought Aer Lingus a 35% increase in profits in July, August and September.
The Irish carrier made an operating profit of €79.2 million during its third quarter, compared with €58.5 million year on year in 2009. The favourable result means the airline has made a year to date operating profit of €60.2 million, compared with a loss of €34.4 million in the same period last year.
During the latest three months, the airline saw revenue increase by 5.5% despite a capacity cut of 11.7% due to the cessation of some unprofitable long-haul routes and the closure of the bulk of its low-cost routes from Gatwick after only a year of operation. Aer Lingus now runs almost a third fewer long-haul flights than it did in 2009.
The upturn in the economy saw long-haul business class sales rise year on year from 13% of long-haul revenue to 17%, while another plus point for the airline was a 21% reduction in fuel costs year on year.
However, Aer Lingus said it “continued to have concerns about the sustainability of the current aviation sector upturn in Europe and North America”.