Easyjet has published a trading updating for its third quarter to the end of June 2022, with 22 million passengers carried over the period – more than seven times higher than the figure for the same quarter of 2021.
The group made a headline loss of £114 million, although its Easyjet Holidays subsidiary generated a profit of £16 million, and Easyjet posted an EBITDAR profit of £103 million (compared to £313 million in the third quarter of 2019).
The carrier said that despite “widespread operational challenges culminating in higher levels of cancellations than normal”, it operated 95 per cent of its planned schedule over the quarter, with load factors reaching 92 per cent in June.
Easyjet said that action taken to remove capacity – due in part to caps imposed by London Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol – had resulted in July operations being “much improved”. The carrier recently announced new measures to support travellers over summer period, including extended customer service opening hours, and a team of ‘Helping Hands’ at key UK airports.
Easyjet announces new measures to support travellers over summer period
Looking ahead Easyjet said it expects capacity in the fourth quarter to be around 90 per cent of 2019 levels, with load factors above 90 per cent.
Commenting on the news Johan Lundgren, Easyjet’s CEO, said:
“Despite the loss this quarter due to the short-term disruption issues, the return to flying at scale has demonstrated that the strategic initiatives launched during the pandemic are delivering now and with more to come.
“This includes a step-change in ancillary yields, increasing 55 per cent versus the same period in 2019, and a record profit of £16 million generated in the quarter by Easyjet holidays which is on track to serve 1.1 million customers in the full year.
