Ryanair: October's Passenger Numbers

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair had an ok October, all things considered. The airline saw an 18 percent increase in passengers flown, from 4.52 million to 5.35 million, against October 2007 figures. Load factor remained stable at 85 percent. It's useful to look at these figures in historical context. In October 2007, the airline posted a 21 percent jump in passengers carried against October 2006 stats, as well as a 2 percent load factor jump in relation to the previous October.

Today the airline also announced a 77 percent drop in half-year profits. Always focused on the bright side, the airline excludes "exceptional costs" totaling €119.3 million from their calculations and claims a profit fall-off of just 47 percent.

Meanwhile, the airline has temporarily canceled all flights to and from Rzeszow as well as most flights in and out of Krakow. These routes are scheduled to resume on December 19. (Thanks to Air Scoop for the tip!)

October stats for other big European LCCs haven't yet been posted. I'll report any dramatic numbers.