Flybe Group has seen an increase in passenger numbers and revenue even as it cut seats.

Revealing its first-quarter results earlier, the low-cost carrier said it welcomed 2.5 million passengers in the three months to June 30th, up 100,000 from the same period last year.

This comes despite a fall in the number of seats available from 3.4 million to 3.1 million as the carrier seeks to reduce costs and improve profitability.

Flybe said it saw revenue increase 1.2 per cent to £191 million during the period.

Flybe chief executive, Christine Ourmières-Widener, said: “The improvement in our revenue per seat continues to demonstrate the success of our commercial strategy and the record load factors show that passengers value the benefits of regional connectivity with Flybe.

“The year has started well.

“We are on track and looking forward to further progress towards sustainable profitability.”

The load factor at the carrier increased 8.8 percentage points to a record 81.3 per cent.