Aer Lingus made an operating loss of €82 million in the first quarter of 2024, slightly worse than the €81 loss reported for the same period last year.
The airline said the first quarter is “typically the weakest quarter of the year for the airline” and the latest quarterly loss follows a full-year operating profit of €225 million for 2023.
Aer Lingus said while revenue increased and overall capacity grew by 4 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2023, the operating loss was due to higher costs.
It said the increased capacity reflected an early Easter and more premium leisure traffic. Capacity on North American routes increased by 2 per cent with Europe up 7 per cent.
Aer Lingus said it is operating its biggest ever North American network this summer which includes the commencement of new services from Dublin to Minneapolis St Paul and Denver and an expanded European leisure network.
Chief executive Lynne Embleton: “Our Q1 2024 financial results were in line with Q1 2023 in what is typically the weakest quarter of the year.”
“We are committed to our growth strategy for Aer Lingus that will benefit the company, our employees, our customers, and the economy,” she said.
“However, it is critical that we remain focused on managing our cost base and that economic growth is not constrained by the passenger cap issue at Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport is a critical piece of strategic national infrastructure, and the passenger cap issue needs to be urgently resolved – this requires both leadership from Government and action by the parties involved,” she said.
