EasyJet has insisted it has no plans to cancel more flights this summer due to air traffic control delays but chief executive Johan Lundgren admitted “we can’t anticipate what will happen”.
Lundgren was speaking before the explosion of wildfires which led easyJet to join Tui and Jet2 in cancelling package holidays to Rhodes this week as fires rage out of control and holidaymakers were evacuated from hotels.
EasyJet has also operated repatriation flights although it continues to operate services to Rhodes while allowing passengers to change their travel dates
However, the carrier received better news at Gatwick where planned strikes by DHL ground-handling staff were called off following a ballot on a revised pay offer. DHL provides all easyJet’s ground-handling services at the airport.
EasyJet announced the pre-emptive cancellation of 1,700 flights through July, August and September earlier this month.
The cancellations, primarily at Gatwick, were due to air traffic control (ATC) delays around Europe.
French air traffic controllers continue to stage regular strikes, causing extensive delays across Northern Europe, while the Ukraine war has closed 20% of Europe’s air space adding to delays.
Lundgren said the flights were cancelled because “we really want to avoid on-the-day cancellations”.
But he argued: “We don’t think any more [cancellations] will happen unless something happens we don’t know about yet.
“There are things that sit outside our control [and] things can happen on the day, but we have no plans outside those [1,700 cancellations] for peak summer.”
Ground-handling staff employed by other service providers at Gatwick have also now suspended planned strikes, but the threat of walkouts remains.
However, Lundgren confirmed: “Strikes by other ground handlers won’t affect easyJet.”
Speaking as easyJet reported a pre-tax profit of £203 million for the three months to the end of June and a 22% increase in the airline’s average fare, Lundgren defended the higher fares this summer against a charge of ‘profiteering’.
He argued: “Pricing is a result of the capacity available and demand. Our average fare in the [April to June] quarter was £73, an increase of £11 year on year.
“But half of the increase was driven by fuel and on top of that there is inflation pressure. Pricing in general is driven by competition on a route and by the demand.”
He also dismissed criticism that easyJet has been slower to ramp up capacity than low-cost rival Ryanair.
Lundgren noted: “This quarter we will be back pretty much to where we were in 2019 [and] we’ve added 15% capacity [on 2022] in the December quarter.”
However, he said: “It’s more important to us where we grow than just growing anywhere.
“Our low-cost competitors grow much more at smaller airports. We’re focused on primary airports. We’re taking market share from British Airways and Air France-KLM.”