DEMAND for no-frills air travel continued unabated last month, with easyJet and Go both enjoying a surge in passenger numbers.

Figures showed that Luton company easyJet carried 839,472 people in March, up from February's 721,642 passengers and a 39 per cent jump on the previous year.

Stansted airline Go flew 428,999 people in March, an 81.5 per cent surge on the previous year and 70,373 more than in February.

Both airlines also reported an improvement in the crucial load factor, which represents passengers as a proportion of the seats available.

EasyJet's was 85.9 per cent, up from 82.6 per cent a year ago, while Go's was 83.4 per cent. In March last year, Go's load factor was 74.3 per cent.

The figures come less than two months after easyJet and Go's larger rival, British Airways, said it was overhauling its short-haul strategy in the face of low-cost competitors.

Unveiling its Future Size and Shape review in February, BA said it would not launch a budget service, although it did concede that it needed to shake up its offering.

But Go chief executive Barbara Cassani said: "These figures show that British Airways' actions are too little, too late. The low-cost genie is well and truly out of the bottle."

Go used to be owned by BA but was sold to management and venture capitalist 3i last June.