Aer Lingus experienced a third quarter operating profit of €139 million, following a €95 million loss during the first half of the year, however, profit for the quarter was below the equivalent quarter in 2019, according to a statement from Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton published on MediaCentre.AerLingus.com.
Strong Leisure Travel
The statement published on MediaCentre.AerLingus.com quotes Embleton as saying, "We anticipated the return of demand for leisure travel once COVID restrictions were removed and planned an ambitious summer schedule which delivered a much-needed strong summer after a difficult two years. There was a strong resumption in outbound and inbound leisure travel this summer as we operated almost 90% of our 2019 levels of capacity. We are now entering the winter season - a period where non-leisure bookings made closer to the day of travel are more important.
"The Q3 profitability is welcome as Aer Lingus begins the process of both repairing the balance sheet and repaying the significant debt that has been taken on. While there is much to build on, we are conscious that global and geopolitical forces causing higher oil prices, exchange rate fluctuation and rising interest rates continue to substantially increase the cost base of airlines."
"Small Profitability"
Embleton added, "We believe that the progress we've made in Q3 and our view of the remainder of the year will bring Aer Lingus to a position of small profitability for the full year, which would be considerably below the full year profitability seen in 2019."
