Easyjet ready for take-off as bookings soar

EASYJET is flying into the summer with confidence as it cashes in on higher ticket prices and Mediterranean getaways.

Bosses expect passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels for the peak holiday season with trips to Portugal, Italy and the Greek islands leading the way.

It comes after revenues surged to £2.6bn in the six months to the end of March, up 80pc on the same period last year.

The average ticket price in the half-year was £61 – 24pc more than the year earlier.

The budget airline stressed this rise was due to a surge in fuel prices and noted half its fares were still less than £50, luring in more savvy holidaymakers. But the price bump helped narrow losses after tax from £431m in the first half of 2022 to £307m.

Easyjet flew 33m passengers, up from 23m the previous year, but 82pc of its 2019 numbers.

Looking ahead, the airline said it would offer about 56m seats on flights in the six months to September 30, up 9pc from last year.

Johan Lundgren, Easyjet chief executive, said travel is still ‘the number one priority’ for many households, despite the strains on spending. ‘We enter the summer with confidence,’ he said.

Although it cut back on less profitable regions, Easyjet announced a new airline base in Birmingham, creating around 100 jobs for pilots and crew, and supporting around 1,200 roles.

It has projected its new package holiday offering, Easyjet holidays, will pull in full-year profits of more than £80m for the year to September 30.

Lundgren said more people were eyeing all-inclusive getaways post-pandemic as it provides ‘more certainty’, with tighter holiday budgets.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said Easyjet holidays had a ‘very significant growth potential’, as shares rose 1.5p, or 7.6p, to 528p. The upbeat results echo rivals including British Airways owner IAG and Tui, which have pinned hopes on a bumper, pandemic-free summer.

IAG, also the parent company of Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, made £8m profit in the first three months of the year.

That was its first profit in the January-to-March quarter since 2019, and a marked improvement on the £648m loss in the same period of 2022.

Tui said customers were unwilling to give up holidays, and reported strong Easter bookings. But Sophie LundYates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, warned: ‘There is still some way to go before Easyjet can chart a path to better profitability.

‘Wider inflation is unlikely to unwind fully for a while, although the majority of the heavy lifting for getting capacity back online has been done.

‘Bookings for the rest of the year look in reasonable shape, but they still need a bit more meat on their bones before the turnaround can be signalled a fait accompli.’