EasyJet today reported “robust” revenue of £930 million in the three months to December 31 – down by a marginal 0.1% year-on-year.
The cancellation of flying to Sharm el-Sheikh impacted revenue per seat at constant currency by 1.5% in the period.
A fall-off in demand following the terrorist attacks in Paris impacted revenue per seat at constant currency during the quarter by 2%, according to the airline.
“Strong revenue per seat performance in October was offset by the impact of the tragic events in Egypt and Paris, resulting in lower demand and yield in November and December,” the airline said in a trading statement.
“Forward bookings for the second quarter are showing a marked improvement in revenue per seat compared to November and December.
“For the first quarter as a whole revenue per seat was down by 3.7% at constant currency.”
Passengers carried in the first quarter of the airline’s financial year rose by 8.1% to 16.1 million, as capacity grew by 7.3% to 17.8 million seats and the load factor increased by 0.6 percentage points to 90.3%.
Bookings by mobile devices were up by 50% year-on-year while business passenger numbers rose by 6.5% in the quarter.
EasyJet plans to raise capacity by 7% this year on the back of lower fuel costs.
The budget carrier’s fuel bill for the year to September 30 is projected to be between £165 million and £180 million down on the same 12 months a year earlier.
The carrier expects annual pre-tax profit for the the year to September 30, 2016 to remain in line with market expectations at £738 million as a result of a strong cost performance, low fuel price, disciplined capacity allocation and resilient trading.
Chief executive, Carolyn McCall, said: “EasyJet’s excellent customer proposition combined with low oil prices has allowed it to offer lower fares which has driven an 8% increase in passenger numbers in the first quarter.
“The easyJet customer-centric strategy of giving passengers low fares to primary airports continues to be executed well.
“This year we will consolidate that with a relentless focus on cost reduction which is already delivering. This will ensure that easyJet continues to win and continues to grow revenue, profit and dividends.”