(Adds detail, background)
LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - British airline easyJet
said it would fly 60% of its pre-pandemic capacity in the
July-Sept period, a big jump from the 17% it flew in the
previous quarter, as COVID-19 restrictions ease and demand
across Europe grows.
The group said it was confident on demand for summer and
autumn travel and that it was gearing its schedule towards
European routes, given that Europe had opened up faster than
Britain.
EasyJet's boss has been one of the most vocal critics of
Britain's chaotic approach to travel over the last two months,
slamming last minute changes which have resulted in a
roller-coaster ride of booking surges and mass cancellations.
For now, it has scheduled 60% of its flying on
intra-European Union routes, whereas normally its business is
split 50-50 between Britain and the EU.
Bookings were behind where they would have been before the
pandemic, easyJet said, as customers were booking later due to
uncertainty connected with the virus.
For the three months to the end of June, when travel across
most of Europe remained restricted, easyJet posted a pre-tax
loss of 318 million pounds ($434 million), but it said that it
had improved its cash burn rate during the period.
($1 = 0.7322 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton)