Easyjet breaks £2bn revenue barrier

● Airline narrows H1 loss, helped by record passengers and rivals’ collapse

slots as well as the rights to operate passenger transport at Tegel.

Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, attributed “soaring” revenues in the period to lower competitor capacity and further investment in new routes.

“It’s a welcome change from recent years, when brutal competition forced the industry to cut prices, eventually driving several smaller players out of the market.”

He said Easyjet has capitalised on its rivals’ misfortune to add appealing routes and keeps growing its fleet. “If price pressure continues to ease, that should be good news for the top line.”

However, he singled out nonfuel costs remaining “stubbornly high”, despite attempts to address this, as an area of concern. “For now, that’s being masked by revenue growth, but while more lower margin passengers might boost profitability in the short run, it won’t make for a robust business if times turn tough… lower margins mean even a small downturn in customer numbers could seriously dent profits.

“The balance sheet looks robust, which helps to allay some of those fears, but we’d still like to see some meaningful progress on non-fuel costs before we turn more positive on the airline.”