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* COVID-19 outbreaks deter some short-term bookings
* Says longer-term demand holding up well
* Shares down 2%
(Adds CEO quotes)
By Kate Holton
LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - British airline easyJet
said it had seen a softening in demand as COVID-19 outbreaks and
the discovery of the Omicron virus variant forced customers to
cancel city breaks, although longer-term bookings have held up
well.
Reporting full-year results five days after news of the new
coronavirus variant hammered airline stocks, easyJet said it had
seen some short-term drop off in demand, with customers delaying
flights into early next year. It has not seen an increase in
'no-shows' at airports however.
"We do see that there has been an impact, particularly on
the short-term departures, but it's not to the same level of
impact and drop off we've seen in previous times when
restrictions have been introduced," Chief Executive Johan
Lundgren told reporters.
The airline's shares bounced around in early trading, and
were down 2% at 0910 GMT.
EasyJet said despite the uncertainty, its new Oct.1
financial year had started well and for summer 2022 - the fourth
quarter of its financial year - it expects capacity to have
recovered to close to pre-pandemic levels.
The group came through the pandemic by cutting costs,
bolstering its balance sheet and switching capacity to the
busiest routes. It is now increasing its fleet plan by 25
aircraft, with slots added at Gatwick, Porto, Lisbon and Milan's
Linate.
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-19 outbreaks emerged.
Airline shares plunged on Friday after news of the Omicron
variant broke. Low-cost group Ryanair had already warned
that European airlines were in for a fraught end to the year as
infection rates on the continent surged.
"There is no getting away from the fact there's further to
climb and the coming months will be patchy at best," said Sophie
Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"But a newly refreshed liquidity position and competitive
advantages means there are some reasons for optimism where
easyJet's concerned."
EasyJet 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 had previously forecast 70%. It did not give a full
financial outlook however as customers book flights closer to
departure, preventing clear visibility.
($1 = 0.7507 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle, Louise
Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)
