Easyjet has continued to benefit from travellers’ strong appetite for travel in the wake of the pandemic. Today it reported an uptick in passengers and a reduction in the traditional “seasonal” winter losses in its half-year trading update.
The budget carrier – whose share price has been struggling under the weight of the cost-of-living crisis, a high fuel price, and a slowdown in bookings due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East – reported that passenger numbers were up eight per cent year-on-year and that its yield per ticket improved by nine per cent for the six months to the end of March.
It managed to reduce its winter losses, which are common with budget airlines, by over £50m and said it now expected to report a headline loss before tax of between £340m and £350m for the period.
It also saw a 206 per cent uptick in revenue from its Easyjet Holidays division.
Johan Lundgren, Easyjet’s CEO, said: “The importance that consumers place on travel coupled with Easyjet’s trusted brand has driven good demand for our flights and holidays. Our growth and focus on productivity has reduced winter losses…
“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.”
The firm said outlook for the rest of the year was positive, expecting both Q3 and Q4 earnings to be up year-on-year.
It has sold 30 per cent of tickets for the rest of the year and 70 per cent of its planned schedule for the summer.