€51.5m loss at CityJet despite increase in passengers

LOSSES REMAINED high at Dublin-based airline CityJet last year despite an increase in passenger numbers.

Accounts just filed for CityJet at the Companies Office show a pretax loss of €51.5 million for the year to the end of March 2010. This compared to a €53.9 million loss in the previous 12 months.

Revenues fell by 8 per cent from €282.4 million to €258.9 million over the same period. Passenger numbers grew, climbing by 6.5 per cent to 2.1 million, while average fares dropped by 16 per cent.

In a report accompanying the numbers, CityJet’s directors said “the negative result at operating level was due to the continued severe economic environment with sharp decline in business traffic and extreme volatility in oil prices and currencies”.

They said the airline’s network out of London City Airport “continued to be impacted by the difficulties in the banking and financial sectors”.

The directors noted that average fares out of London City airport declined by 8 per cent.

CityJet is wholly owned by Air France-KLM and is the largest airline operating out of London City airport.

The company’s chief executive, Christine Ourmèires, said in a recent interview that “the goal is to return the airline to profit by the end of the 2011/2012 financial year. There are signs that we are already on the way to achieving our objective”.

Ms Ourmières replaced Geoffrey O’Byrne White, who stepped down as chief executive last August after 10 years at the airline.

The directors’ report stated that subsequent to year end, CityJet incurred a cost of €3 million as a result of 1,112 CityJet flights that were cancelled due to the volcanic eruption last April and May. The €3 million cost will be recorded in the airline’s 2011 financial statements.

Operating losses for the year to the end of March last were lower than in the previous 12 months, falling from €55.3 million to €45.7 million.

The company had accumulated losses of €93.3 million at the end of its financial year. Net assets stood at €106.4 million, of which €5.5 million was cash.

The accounts include an impairment charge of €3.5 million recorded on the company’s aircraft. At the end of the year, it had a fleet of 27 planes.

In their report, CityJet’s directors reaffirmed its parent’s intention of providing continued financial support “for the foreseeable future”.