easyJet sees surge in late bookings

BUDGET airline easyJet, which has just launched the North West’s first direct flight to Russia, says it has seen a late surge in bookings thanks to continued cold weather.

The low fares specialist, which operates dozens of flights a week from Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon Airports, said in an update that it has performed strongly in the six months to the end of March.

It said revenue per seat growth at constant currency for the period was up by around 8.5%, marginally ahead of guidance issued in late January.

easyJet said demand had been driven in part by stronger-than-anticipated late bookings in the run up to Easter.

In addition, first half revenue per seat growth was approximately 1.5 percentage points higher due to the timing of Easter which fell on 31 March, a week earlier than 2012.

The trading period was not without its challenges, with bad weather hitting some flights and also the weakening pound against the US dollar, euro and Swiss franc expected to cause a £30m-£35m hit in the first half, with a further £5m “adverse impact” from changes in the fuel price.

Generally though chief executive Carolyn McCall was in positive mood, stating: “easyJet’s performance over the first half reflects the continuing successful delivery of our strategy of low fares, coupled with friendly service on Europe’s leading network.  

“First half losses have been halved year on year through our disciplined approach to capacity deployment and a focus on cost management over winter.

“We have also benefited from rival airlines taking winter capacity out of the market, the earlier timing of Easter compared to last year and the poor weather across the UK and northern Europe which stimulated strong bookings in the last few weeks of the first half of the financial year.”

The airline expects first half losses to be between £60m to £65m.