Airlines are in the spotlight after a positive update from Flybe.
The budget carrier has climbed 4.75p or more than 6% to 82p as it reported a 10.7% rise in passenger numbers and a 13% rise in passenger revenue in the second quarter. Chief executive Saad Hammad said:
Flybe’s turnaround continues, with our third successive quarter of revenue, capacity and passenger number growth, against the very competitive market provided by other airlines and road, rail and ferry services.
The company is continuing to redeploy its surplus aircraft. In a buy note Numis said:
The first quarter trading update in July highlighted a positive start to the year and we consider it encouraging that this momentum has been maintained, with greater stability regarding forecasts and the outlook . The legacy fleet issue is slowly but surely being resolved (as highlighted by last week’s announcement re the commercial deal with Rigby Group), allowing management to focus on driving profitable growth and strong free cash flow generation in its core operations.
Liberum said:
We see upside potential if Flybe can continue to deal with its surplus aircraft, which continue to hide the underlying progress at the airline.
Other airline shares were also in demand, with easyJet up 12p at £17.17 and Ryanair climbing 1.5% to €12.8.
