Low cost airline easyJet says losses for the winter period are likely to be more than £50m lower than last year and reports ‘strong demand’ for summer season. Tony McDonough reports
Budget airline easyJet says it expects to narrow its winter losses by more than £50m with its holidays division seeing a £31m pre-tax profit.
On Thursday, easyJet, which operates around 25 routes out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, issued a trading update for the six months to March 31, a period when most budget airlines typically report a loss.
It says it is on track for headline pre-tax losses of £340m to £360m for the half-year period. This is against a loss of £411m reported last year.
In a trading update in January easyJet said the conflict in the Middle East, which began on October 7, cost it £40m in lost revenues in the final quarter of 2023. Flights to Israel are now suspended for the summer.
However, with the Easter peak falling in March the carrier was able to make up some of the shortfall. In January, February and March easyJet increased capacity and flew 16.8m passengers against 15.6m in 2023.
In the update it said: “Bookings for summer 2024 continue to build well, with an increase in volume and pricing compared to the same period last year, underpinned by strong demand for easyJet’s primary airport network.
“Q3’24 currently has around 60% of the program sold, +1ppt and Q4’24 is around 30% sold, +2 ppts year-on-year. EasyJet holidays has currently sold 70% of the plan for this summer.”
Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, added: “The importance that consumers place on travel coupled with easyJet’s trusted brand has driven good demand for our flights and holidays.
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“Our growth and focus on productivity have reduced winter losses by more than £50m. We have further enhanced our network with the launch of new bases in Alicante and Birmingham providing greater choice for consumers across Europe.
“We are well set up operationally for this summer season where we expect easyJet to be one of the fastest growing major airlines in Europe and take more customers on easyJet holidays than ever before.”