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* Summer capacity to ramp up to 60% from 17% in Q3
* EasyJet shifts capacity into Europe as UK lags
* Posts Q3 loss of 318 mln stg due to restrictions
(Adds background)
LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - British airline easyJet
plans to fly 60% of its pre-pandemic capacity in the
July-September period, a big jump from the 17% in the previous
quarter, as COVID restrictions ease and travel appetite builds
across Europe.
The group said on Tuesday it was confident on demand for
summer and autumn travel, adding 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 approach to travel over the last two months, slamming
last-minute changes which have resulted in booking surges and
mass cancellations.
For now, easyJet said it had scheduled 60% of its flying on
intra-European Union routes, whereas normally its business is
split evenly between Britain and the EU.
But the company said it expected bookings from the UK to
improve in the coming period as quarantine is scrapped for fully
vaccinated arrivals from some European countries.
The airline's plan to fly more capacity in the July-
September period, when it tends to make almost all of its
profit, is being matched by rival low-cost airlines such Ryanair
and Wizz Air which have also added more
flights.
EasyJet's positive outlook comes after almost a year and a
half of travel restrictions. It has shed staff, cut the size of
its fleet and taken on new debt to survive.
The company said that it had improved its cash burn rate
during the period to 34 million pounds per week, better than the
40 million guidance it gave earlier in the year, and was
well-placed financially with liquidity of 2.9 billion pounds.
But it said limited visibility meant it could not provide
guidance for the rest of the year.
For the three months to June 30, when travel across most of
Europe remained restricted and it flew just 17% of its
pre-pandemic capacity, easyJet posted a pretax loss of 318
million pounds ($434 million).
($1 = 0.7322 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton and Jason
Neely)
