It’s the start of the month, which can mean only one thing: passenger totals and load factor comparison time! Yeehaw!

In June 2007, Ryanair’s load factor decreased by 2 percent (from 87% to 85%), while the number of passengers carried by the Irish low-cost carrier increased by 18%, both figures in comparison with June 2006 stats. By way of contrast, Slovak budget airline SkyEurope witnessed a 3.1 percent increase in load factor (from 77.7% to 80.1%) though managed a smaller increase in the number of passengers carried (at 16.4%) than did Ryanair.

Load factor, for those unfamiliar with the increasingly bandied about term, refers to the aggregate number of seats purchased—though not necessarily the number of seats occupied.

Will promotional fares nudge any of these numbers up in July? Stay tuned.

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