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LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - British airline easyJet
said on Tuesday it had seen some softening of trading in the
first quarter following COVID outbreaks including the Omicron
variant, but it remained well placed to handle uncertainty
through its financial year.
The group, which has cut costs and prioritised the strongest
routes, said it had seen an encouraging start to the year, with
strong demand returning for peak winter holiday periods, and
increasing demand for summer bookings.
Revenue booked for the second half of its financial year,
which began on Oct.1, is ahead of 2019 levels, and it is
increasing its fleet plan by 25 aircraft to tap in to demand.
Airlines have been on a roller-coaster of a ride this year,
steadily recovering in the first half as first Europe and then
Britain reopened for travel, before fears started to grow about
the pace of the recovery, and as new COVID outbreaks emerged.
Airline shares plunged on Friday as news of the Omicron
variant of the coronavirus broke.
The group reported a headline loss before tax of 1.14
billion pounds ($1.52 billion) for the year to end-September, at
the higher end of forecasts, and said first-quarter capacity was
expected to be up to around 65% of 2019 levels.
It expects capacity to have recovered close to 2019 levels
by the fourth quarter of 2022. It did not give a full financial
outlook however.
($1 = 0.7507 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle)