EasyJet heralded a record bounce back as it projected an operating profit of up to £545 million for the peak summer quarter as passenger numbers almost doubled.
An annual headline pre-tax loss of between £170 million and £190 million is expected for the year to September 30, including a £64 million foreign exchange loss and disruptions costs of £75 million “mainly from operational issues experienced across the industry” in the third quarter.
“The impact of Omicron, war in Ukraine and the industry wide issues experienced this summer all affected operational performance during the financial year,” EasyJet admitted.
“Despite this, demand has been strong for easyJet’s optimised primary airport network which continues to deliver alongside step-changed ancillary revenue and the rapid growth of easyJet holidays.”
Capacity for the October to December period is up by more than 30% year-on-year with the budget airline expecting to fly around 20 million seats.
UK capacity during the peak travel periods, such as October half term and Christmas week, is back to pre-pandemic levels.
Bookings continue to progress well with load factors ahead of the same point in pre-pandemic 2019 and “robust” yields.
“This flying schedule retains resilience but also provides a platform to prepare for the summer ’23 ramp up,” the carrier said.
“Operations have significantly improved as a result of management actions to mitigate the disruption that the whole airline ecosystem experienced through Q3.
“Since the start of July, easyJet’s operations normalised, with Q4 on the day cancellations being below 2019 levels.
“Some specific areas of the wider European airline industry continue to have some ongoing challenges outside of easyJet’s control, for example air traffic control.”
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “EasyJet achieved a record bounce back this summer with Q4 operating profit expected to be between £525 million and £545 million and passenger numbers almost doubling versus last summer to 24 million with a load factor of 92%, as demand for our leading network and services remains strong.
“Our step change in ancillary revenue has continued to deliver, alongside easyJet holidays making a profitable contribution in its first full year of operations.
“This was alongside our operational performance being ahead of the same period in 2019 while customer satisfaction indicators also exceeded pre-pandemic levels over the peak summer.
“Our summer ’23 season went on sale last week and we were filling the equivalent of more than four A320 aircraft a minute in the opening hours demonstrating the continued demand.
“EasyJet is Europe’s largest operator at primary airports with one of the strongest balance sheets in the aviation industry. We face the uncertain macro-economic environment with many strengths through our brand, network and business model which enable us to provide low fares to millions despite the rising cost of living.”