EasyJet is expecting to return to profit this year for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020.
The UK-based budget carrier said that its performance in the final quarter of 2022 had been “ahead of expectations”, thanks to strong bookings during the pre-Christmas period, which helped to increase group revenue by 83 per cent to £1.47 billion compared to the same period in 2021. Passenger numbers were up by 47 per cent from 11.9 million to 17.5 million year-on-year.
Although easyJet still made a loss of £133 million during the quarter, this was a 38 per cent improvement on the airline’s deficit of £213 million a year ago when Covid-related travel restrictions were still a major factor.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said: “We have seen strong and sustained demand for travel over the first quarter, carrying almost 50 per cent more customers compared with last year.
“This strong booking performance, aided by the airline’s step-changed revenue capability, has driven an £80 million year-on-year boost in the first quarter with continued momentum.
“We expect to see our winter loss reduce significantly over the first half compared to last year. This will set us firmly on the path to delivering a full-year profit, where we anticipate beating the current market expectation enabling us to create value for customers, investors and the economies we serve.”
During the October-December quarter, easyJet’s capacity reached 20.2 million seats – up from 15.5 million in 2021 – with load factor rising by 10 per cent to 87 per cent over the same period. Although this remains below pre-pandemic levels due to the continuation of a “later booking pattern”.
Revenue per seat also increased by 36 per cent from the same quarter in 2021 to reach £68.47, helped by a 21 per cent rise in ticket yield and a 20 per cent increase in the yield from selling ancillaries. EasyJet now earns an average of £20.12 per seat from selling these add-ons.
The airline now expects to reach pre-Covid capacity levels in the peak summer quarter from July to September, with a total of around 94 million seats during the current financial year.