FASTJET PASSENGER NUMBERS UP IN MAY

The low-cost African airline, Fastjet PLC, has recorded an increase of passenger numbers in May at its own-brand operations in Tanzania.

Fastjet said it flew 43,020 passengers in May, up from 24,233 a year earlier, while load factor, a measure of how full its aircraft are, rose to 71 percent, from 67 percent. It had increased its capacity 11 percent from April.

"I am delighted to see our capacity increasing as we maximize the utilization of resources, particularly our aircraft, as planned. We expect to announce further increases in capacity, including new routes, in the very near future," Chief Executive and Interim Chairman, Ed Winter said in a statement.

On a rolling 12 month basis to the end of May, Fastjet's own operations flew 408,178 passengers, up from 168,373 in the previous 12 month period.

Including the legacy Fly 540 operations, total passenger numbers fell to 71,320 in May, compared with 81,581 in May 2013.

Fly 540 operations in Ghana and Angola are suspended pending further restructuring, and the company said it will only report monthly traffic figures from Fastjet's own operations in future because Fly540 passenger numbers are no longer relevant in evaluating the performance of the business.