Aer Lingus said today it carried 7.3 per cent more passengers in 2006 than in the previous year.
But the newly privatised carrier said its load factor - the amount of seats filled - was 77.6 per cent for 2006 - a fall of 3.8 per cent on 2005.
The load factor fell 1.5 per cent on short-haul flights and 5.8 per cent on long-haul flights. In December, the load factor was 72.6 per cent, a 1.2 per cent drop on the corresponding 2005 figure.
December's load factor on short haul flights fell 0.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent on long-haul flights.
The airline said it had increased capacity with an 11.6 per cent increase in available seats. It said passengers on short-haul flights increased by 9.3 per cent but fell by 4.4 per cent on long-haul flights in 2006.
