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BERLIN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - EasyJet is considering
options to bolster its finances, and is not against state
support to help the airline get through the coronavirus
pandemic, chief executive Johan Lundgren said on Saturday.
"We have a number of options of financing. We are reviewing
that all the time," Lundgren told Reuters in an interview ahead
of the opening of a new airport in the German capital.
"I am not against state aid," he said. "It is very clear
that the crisis has been to that extent that you can't expect
the industry and its players to cope with it all by themselves."
With travel across Europe at very low levels, most airlines
are bleeding cash, but easyJet's finances have come under
particular scrutiny amid media reports that it has signalled to
the UK government it may need more financial support.
The airline has warned it will make an annual loss of as
much as 845 million pounds ($1.09 billion) for the 12 months
that ended in September.
To survive the impact of the pandemic, it has raised more
than 900 million pounds from the sale and leaseback of aircraft,
taken a 600 million pound loan from the government, cut 4,500
jobs and tapped shareholders for 419 million pounds.
Tightening coronavirus restrictions across Europe mean that
easyJet, which before the pandemic was the fifth biggest airline
in Europe by passenger numbers, is planning to fly just 25% of
capacity for the rest of 2020.
($1 = 0.7729 pounds)
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson)
