EasyJet holidays reported a strong quarter to December 31 with customer numbers up by 48% year-on-year.
The budget airline’s in-house operator saw profits rise by 131% to £30 million in the three months.
This came as quarterly revenue for the tour operation increased by 95% from £93 million to £181 million.
But easyJet warned that it will take a £40 million hit this winter as a direct impact of the conflict in the Middle East.
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In a trading update today, the airline revealed that quarterly losses had been trimmed to £126 million from £133 million year-on-year.
The airline said: “The onset of conflict in the Middle East on 7 October had short term impacts from a pause in flights to Israel and Jordan, which currently remains in place, and a temporary slowdown in flight bookings for the wider industry.”
However, easyJet’s seasonal winter loss is expected to improve due to “disciplined capacity growth where demand is strongest, alongside productivity benefits”.
The airline added: “Although still early, bookings for summer 2024 are building well, with the turn of the year bookings period showing an increase in both volume and pricing compared to the same period last year.
“This positive momentum is also evident in the holidays business, where we continue to expect customer growth to exceed 35% year-on-year.”
Passenger carryings in the three months were up to 19.8 million against 17.5 million in the same period in 2022 with a load factor of 86% as capacity rose to 23 million seats.
EasyJet holidays reported a boost in bookings for May, June and July, with Spain accounting for more than a quarter of all summer 2024 beach sales and other beach bestsellers including the Algarve, Crete, Rhodes, Turkey and Tunisia.
Families made up more than a third of beach bookings, while over 70% of sales were into four or five star properties.
All-inclusive continued to dominate, representing more than 60% of beach bookings.
The airline claimed it filled two aircraft a minute at peak booking periods and saw the busiest ever sale trading day for package holidays on ‘Sunshine Saturday’.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “We delivered an improved performance in the quarter which is testament to the strength of demand for our brand and network.
“The popularity of easyJet holidays also continues to grow, with 48% more customers in the period.
“We see positive booking momentum for summer 2024 with travel remaining a priority for consumers.
“Flight and holidays bookings took off strongly during the traditional busy turn of year sales period, as customers opted to secure their summer holidays to firm favourites like Spain and Portugal alongside destinations further afield like Greece and Turkey.
“EasyJet remains focused on delivering for our customers in the coming months, while also expecting to deliver continuing performance gains”
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