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(Sharecast News) - Budget airline easyJet said it expected third-quarter capacity to be 90% of pre-pandemic levels as it narrowed half-year loses.
The company on Thursday reported a pre-tax loss of £557m compared with £645m a year earlier. Revenue surged to £1.5bn from £240m as Covid restrictions were eased.
EasyJet forecast final-quarter capacity on sale to be 97% of 2019 levels, with load factors expected to more than 90%. Bookings have risen to 6% above 2019 levels in the past 10 weeks, thanks to a surge in demand for leisure and domestic flying.
Chief Executive Johan Lundgren said the loss reduction was "at the better end of guidance" and noted that pent-up demand and removal of travel restrictions "provided for a strong and sustained recovery in trading which has been further boosted as a result of our actions".
This included moving planes to different routes in better performing markets, Lundgren added.
"Since Easter we have been flying up to a quarter of a million customers and 1,600 flights every day and in the second half leisure and domestic capacity will be above 2019 levels."
However, easyJet pulled further guidance for the current fiscal year "given the continued level of short-term uncertainty".
"Customers are booking closer to departure and visibility remains limited," the company said.
It added that its holidays business was now on track to carry more than 1.1m passengers in the current fiscal year.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor said that given the reporting period also included disruption from the recent Omicron variant, "the outlook comes with the likelihood of more positive news to come".
"The company's previous rights issue stabilised the business and easyJet is now looking to recoup lost revenues through a combination of higher passenger numbers and its own measures to improve profitability," he said.
