No-frills favourites buck downward trend
January 3, 2006The UK's favourite budget airlines were among the few operators to emerge unscathed from another awful year for the global airline industry, the BBC reports.
The industry as a whole is estimated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to have plummeted to losses of $6 billion (£3.4 billion) in 2005, marking a fifth consecutive year in the red.
But UK-based no-frills airline easyJet and Ireland-based carrier Ryanair battled against the odds to emerge as the champions of 2005 – good news for budget travellers.
Both airlines enjoyed strong passenger growth and rising profits in a year in which many of the world's other top airlines crashed to heavy losses and endured revenue decline.
Topping off a good year, Ryanair posted an 18 per cent jump in half-year profits in November. easyJet saw earnings rise nine per cent in the same period.
But while the UK and Ireland's air aces were cracking open the bubbly, the US' top guns endured another year of misery.
Leading US airlines Delta and Northwest both announced they were filing for Chapter 11 in September after failing to lift themselves from the post-September 11 lull. Delta has lost $10 billion since 2001.
The IATA, however, estimates that the industry as a whole will return to profitability in 2007.
© Adfero Ltd
