Easyjet has reported a pre-tax loss of £212 million for the first half of 2017, with the airline hit by the impact of a weaker pound.
The airline, which also blamed a late Easter for the results, recorded a loss of £21 million for the same period last year.
However, Easyjet CEO Carolyn McCall said the airline’s performance had been “resilient” with revenue growing 3.2 per cent to £1.87 billion, while passenger numbers jumped 9 per cent to 33.8 million – revenue per seat was lower.
“The first half loss is in line with market expectations and reflects the movement of Easter into the second half as well as currency effects which together had an estimated impact of circa £127m on the bottom line,” said McCall.
"Our bookings for the summer are ahead of last year showing that demand to fly remains strong and reflects growing evidence that consumers are prioritising expenditure on flights and holidays above other non-essential items.
"Looking ahead, we are seeing an improving revenue per seat trend as well as the continued reduction of competitor capacity growth. Cost performance for the full year will continue to be strong.”
Easyjet also announced it’s introducing larger aircraft into its fleet with the conversion of an existing order of A320neo aircraft into A321neo. The larger A321neo will have a configuration of 235 seats in contrast with the A320neos 186 seats.
The first delivery is expected in Summer 2018. This is part of the existing Easyjet Airbus framework agreement signed in 2013.
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