Aer Lingus first quarter losses narrow to €55m
Aer Lingus has reported an operating loss of €55m for the first quarter of 2025, an improvement on the €82m loss it reported the same time last year.
The airline said its losses narrowed in the first quarter - typically the weakest quarter of the year - due to increased capacity and lower fuel costs.
It said its overall rise in capacity included a 4.5% increase on North American routes and an increase of 7.1% in Europe.
The airline said it carried a total of 2,141 passengers in the first quarter, an increase of 1.8% on the same time last year. Its load factor - how many seats it fills on each flight - rose to 75.3% from 74.9%.
It said its passenger capacity operated, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), rose by 5.4% on the same time last year.
Aer Lingus said the summer season has now started, and the airline is operating its biggest ever North American network this Summer, including new services from Dublin to Nashville and Indianapolis and an expanded European leisure network.
Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton said the airline's first quarter financial performance represented a strong financial outcome and a significant improvement on the first quarter of 2024.
"The Q1 performance builds upon the underlying momentum seen in the business from 2024," the CEO said.
She said the first two of six Airbus A321 XLR planes are now in service and operating on its new routes to Nashville and Indianapolis.
"These new aircraft and the remaining four XLRs which are expected to join the fleet later this year will support a compelling growth ambition that will benefit the airline, our customers, our employees and the economy," Lynne Embleton added.
The parent group of Aer Lingus and British Airways owner IAG has today reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, helped by increased demand, and said it was seeing resilient demand across its markets despite macroeconomic uncertainty.
IAG also said today it is ordering 53 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft for its long-haul fleet.
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