Aer Lingus, the flight company and Irish national carrier, has seen a larger amount of bookings and confirmed a rebound in profits for the quarter. The booking pickup suggests that the profit by the end of 2011 will be better than expected.
Pre-tax profits for the last three months were up 174% from last year. In monetary terms, this is 42.2 million euros, or £37 million. This is due to an 8.3% passenger increase and the end of the volcanic ash disruptions. Additionally 6% of staff were cut.
Staffing
Staffing issues were resolved by an increase in interns by using the JobBridge internship scheme. The company advertised 19 internships, such as “air safety assistant” on the web. However, the catch is the jobs advertised through this scheme, funded by the Irish government, is not to be used for staff that the company would otherwise have to hire, meaning the jobs created are slightly meaningless.
The first quarter saw a 56 million euro loss for the company due to disputes within the company. Thus this stronger result is beneficial to the company, and a welcome change.
The airplane industry has been suffering from airport tax increases, rising costs of fuel, and the global economy. For Aer Lingus, the recession in Ireland has also affected business.
Positive Outlook
Christoph Mueller, the chief executive of the airline was positive about the news, saying, “Although economic conditions in Ireland remain challenging, we are pleased with the booking profile for the rest of the year and are very positive about our trading prospects for the rest of 2011.”
Airlines across the US had been one of the first industries to suffer in the global economic recession of 2008, with companies floundering and mergers happening. In addition, Aeir Lingus pilots went on strike earlier in the summer in a dispute over rosters. Despite this issue, the company saw these profits in the second quarter.
With the markets volatile at the moment, it is unclear what this will mean; however, flight companies gaining income is a good sign for the economy. The world will have to keep its eye on the markets, hoping that increases will carry forward.
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