Aer Lingus revenue down by 10%

Aer Lingus has been hit hard by the downturn in global travel

Irish airline Aer Lingus' third-quarter revenues fell by ten per cent compared to the same period last year.

The carrier said passenger numbers from July to September increased by 7% to almost 3.1m.

However its revenue fell because short-haul fares decreased by 12% compared to a year earlier, while long-haul fares were down 17%.

In October, the airline published an emergency business plan including a proposal to lay off 800 of its staff.

It said it would also cut pay rates in an effort to save 97m euros a year by 2011.

The airline's chief executive, Christoph Mueller, who took over on September 1, has said the company has only a 50-50 chance of survival.

"Positive impact"

The formerly state-owned company did not publish revenue figures for the third quarter.

It has 107m euros this year on restructuring costs, final payments on two new aircraft, and operating activity, reducing its net cash to 400m euros.

In a statement, the airline, which is now partly owned by Ireland's biggest airline Ryanair, said it was continuing to experience difficult market conditions.

"The actions taken to remove capacity on underperforming parts of the network has had a positive impact on stabilising load factors and yields while reducing operating costs," the statement said.

"While the fall in yield year on year continues, the pace of decline in average fares does not appear to be accelerating currently."

The airline also announced that it was removing one airplane from long-haul service, reducing this part of the fleet to five. It said a sixth plane might be added next summer.

Aer Lingus' UK base is at Belfast International Airport, from where it operates flights to 11 European destinations.