TheMoodieReport.com

TheMoodieReport.com: "BAA reports �subdued� market conditions as passenger numbers rise +1.9% in January � 09/02/06
Source: �The Moodie Report
By Martin Moodie
Email Print
UK. BAA�s seven UK airports handled a total of 10.1 million passengers in January, an increase of +1.9% year-on-year.

Although there were mixed results in different market segments, overall conditions remained �subdued�, BAA said.

The best performing area, excluding North America, was long haul, which grew by+ 6.8%. This was helped by a +98% increase in passengers on newly expanded Indian services.

European scheduled traffic was up by +4.5% and Irish traffic increased by +3.7%.

At London Heathrow Airport a combination of reduced capacity and lower load factors resulted in a drop of -7.4% in passengers carried on UK routes. The -17.7% drop in European charter traffic almost precisely matched a similar cut in capacity as operators switched more services from charter to a low-cost scheduled format. North Atlantic traffic fell by -3.4%.

Among individual airports the fastest growing was again Aberdeen where a renewed surge in North Sea oil activity helped produced a +15.9% increase in passengers. In the London area Heathrow recorded a drop of -0.6% while Gatwick was up by +2.1% and Stansted by +6.9%. Southampton saw growth of +9.4% as it continued to be buoyed by an expansion in domestic services, while Glasgow and Edinburgh registered increases of +4.3% and +3.6% respectively. "