Low-cost airline easyJet reported improved trading in the second quarter after the removal of Covid travel restrictions, adding that summer bookings were tracking ahead of pre-pandemic 2019.
The company, which has been hit hard by staff shortages and flight cancellations over the Easter holiday period, on Tuesday said it had flown 94% of its planned schedule in the last seven days “despite the recent increase in the number of crew testing positive for Covid-19”.
“We have proactively managed this in advance by making pre-emptive cancellations as early as possible, enabling the majority of our customers to rebook onto flights departing the same day,” the company said.
It now expects to post a group pre-tax loss of between £535m – £565m and forecast third quarter capacity to be around 90% of 2019 levels while fourth quarter capacity on sale remains at near 2019.
Passenger numbers soared to 11.5m for the three months to March 31, compared with 1.1m a year earlier.
“Since travel restrictions were removed, easyJet has seen a strong recovery in trading which has been sustained, resulting in a positive outlook for Easter and beyond, with daily booking volumes for summer currently tracking ahead of those at the same time in FY19,” the company added.
