Cyprus Airways carried 15% fewer passengers in Jan-Oct

The number of passengers carried by Cyprus Airways from January to October dropped by 210,000 or 15.0% compared to the same period of 2010, as a result of the financial crisis and the intensified competition, the national carrier said in a statement sent to the Cyprus Stock Exchange.
According to the unaudited interim report for the period from July 1 to November 18, CAIR reported that the passenger load factor rose to 73.1% from 71.6% as a result of the reduction of available seats in the market.
“The company reduced the available seats in the market by 336,000 or 17,0% for the period January-October as compared to the same period of last year,” the statement noted.
The airline added that the strikes by air traffic controllers in Greece had a significant impact on operating costs.
However it should benefit from the sale of one spare engine (Trent 700) and the sale of another spare engine (V2500-A5) within the next few days earning USD 15 mln and a profit of 7.6 mln euros.
An agreement with aircraft lessor ILFC was signed in September for the lease of two A321-200 aircraft for six years for delivery in April and June 2012, adding that the lease expiration of two A330-200s were amended to December 2011 and January 2012, a year earlier than the lease expiry.
The company is negotiating the renewal of labour collective agreement with further savings in mind, while another benefit should arise from the exchange of slots at Heathrow airport with Virgin Atlantic providing more convenient departure and arrival flight times between Larnaca and London Heathrow.