May proves to be a busy month for easyJet

Low-cost airline easyJet has revealed that passenger numbers were up last month, with the budget carrier reporting a 13.8 per cent gain in traffic.

The airline, which is based at Luton Airport, revealed that it carried 3.3 million passengers in May, compared with 2.9 million a year ago.

Revenue was also up by 15.2 per cent to £1.7 billion for the past 12 months ending in May.

"For the second half we anticipate total revenue per seat to decline in the region of five per cent to ten per cent versus last year," easyJet said in a trading update.

"For the year to September 2007 our guidance remains unchanged, and we expect to increase pre-tax profits by 40 per cent to 50 per cent compared with the previous year."

The low-cost carrier has hubs at many UK sites including Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Glasgow Airport and Bristol Airport.

It recently revealed its intention to continue to slash prices throughout the summer months, with selected offers saving flyers up to 30 per cent in June and July.

The revelation comes after rival operator Ryanair predicted that its profits would grow at the slowest rate in four years.