Wizz Air Holding PLC (LON:WIZZ) and Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON:RYA) saw an increase in passenger numbers and load factor in March, with Wizz Air adding nine new routes to Austria.
The FTSE 250-listed Wizz Air said its passenger numbers increased 25% to 2.5mln in March 2018 from 1.9mln at the same time a year ago. The load factor -- the ratio of passengers to seats available -- increased to 91% from 90% in March 2017.
READ: Wizz Air Holdings signs deal for 146 Airbus aircraft valued in excess of US$17.2bn
In the rolling 12 months to the end of March, customer numbers rose 25% to 29mln while the load factor increased to 91% from 90%.
The budget airline also said it added nine new routes to and from Austria, and one new route to and from Bosnia and Herzegovina and added five new Airbus A320 family aircraft to the fleet.
Meanwhile, Ryanair said its passenger numbers rose by 6% to 10mln in March 2018 from 9.4mln at the same time a year ago. The company said its rolling annual traffic grew 9% to 130.3mln customers.
Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer of Ryanair, said the load factor of the airlines rose 1% to 95% from 94% on the back of lower fares.
