EasyJet trims losses as it eyes a return to pre-pandemic passenger levels

EasyJet has been forced to cancel flights in recent days after high numbers of staff were hit by Covid

EasyJet is forecasting a recovery this summer

PA Wire

Rhiannon Curry12 April 2022

Losses at EasyJet have fallen year-on-year, beating analysts expectations, as the airline gears up to return to pre-pandemic passenger numbers this summer.

The company heralded a strong recovery in trading since the relaxation of Covid travel restrictions in January, reflecting the pent-up demand for travel from consumers.

It expects to report a loss in the range of £535 million to £565 million for the six months to the end of March, less than the £701 million it reported for the same period in 2021.

While it only operated at 67% of pre-pandemic capacity during the first three months of the year, it said it expects its operations over the summer months to match 2019 levels.

The news comes as the airline was forced to make a number of flight cancellations over the weekend due to an unusually high number of staff off work due to Covid.

EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said around 5% of its planned flights were scrapped after twice the number of people called in sick as normal.

“Customers were notified and more than 60% of people were able to rebook for another flight on that day,” he added.

He is confident about continued momentum in the travel sector, with beach destinations proving particularly popular with holidaymakers. EasyJet has added five new slots in Greece this year, making it the largest carrier to the main Greek islands.

Lundgren said he expected EasyJet to emerge as “one of the winners in the recovery”.

Analysts were more circumspect, pointing out that higher fuel prices and ongoing disruption caused would lean on performance.

EasyJet said it has already bought 64% of the fuel it needs for the second half of the year at $571 per metric tonne, reducing its exposure to current fuel price rises.

Allegra Dawes, senior airlines analyst at Third Bridge, said that while today’s update “points to the market’s continued recovery, EasyJet faces rising costs due to fuel pricing and operation ramp up and continued operational difficulties as a result of covid-19 and staffing shortages.

“The road to a full recovery remains long and bumpy.”

Shares in the company opened almost 2% lower on Tuesday morning, at 532p.