Aer Lingus: Trading Update

In first half results released on 31 July 2013, Aer Lingus noted that short and long haul forward bookings
were ahead of prior year but that the short haul booking profile had somewhat eroded in July due to the
exceptionally good weather conditions that were experienced. However, the trading environment at the
time was such that Aer Lingus was able to maintain its guidance that 2013 operating profit, before
exceptional items, would be broadly in line with the €69.1 million reported in respect of 2012.
The current booking profile for the rest of the year suggests that despite more aggressive pricing in
response to market conditions, it will not be possible to recover lost volumes experienced in July and
August as a result of the warm weather. In addition, the intensely competitive pricing environment will
continue to impact higher yielding in-month bookings. We intend to reduce short haul capacity by a
minimum of 3% in Q4 2013 relative to prior year.
Aer Lingus' long haul business continues to perform strongly ahead of prior year despite some weakness
evident in November 2013 relative to November 2012. Some of this weakness is attributable to a
distortion in the prior year comparatives due to disrupted passengers travelling in November 2012 rather
than late October as a result of Hurricane Sandy in the United States. Long haul bookings for the
remainder of 2013 are currently ahead of prior year.
The recent nature of these new market conditions means that trading visibility is limited but on the
assumption that these conditions continue unchanged for the rest of the year, Aer Lingus currently
expects that 2013 operating profit, before exceptional items, will be around €60 million. We expect that
the Q3 2013 operating result will be ahead of prior year.
Aer Lingus management is examining ways to accelerate existing plans to achieve further cost
efficiencies in order to preserve competiveness and protect future profitability. However, measures such
as employee exits under the current voluntary severance scheme have been slowed by delays in the
resolution of funding issues in the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme