EasyJet blames ‘competitive environment’ as winter losses grow

No-frills carrier easyJet said its losses grew by 52% for the latest quarter on the back of investments in Italy and a “competitive environment”.

The Luton-based group reported a headline pre-tax loss of £93 million for the three months to December 31, up from £61 million a year earlier.

This came despite a 7% rise in passenger numbers for the period, as well as growing profits at package holiday arm easyJet holidays and a continued reduction in costs from flight disruption.

EasyJet attributed its financial performance to it being the first winter running bases at the Italian airports of Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino.

It previously stated this would require an estimated investment of £30 million, but it was “confident that these strategic investments will see revenue maturity over the coming years”.

In relation to its latest results, easyJet added that there is a “continued competitive environment in specific markets”, such as pricing pressures for certain routes connecting airports serving London with beach destinations because of increased supply.

The airline increased its available seat kilometres – calculated by multiplying the number of available seats by the distance flown – by 9% over the period.

EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis said: “We have seen continued demand for our flights and holidays over the last quarter, growing airline passenger numbers and load factor, with easyJet holidays maintaining its strong growth trajectory attracting 20% more customers year on year.

“Our focus on, and investment in, customer experience and punctuality is driving strong results, with a four percentage point rise in customer satisfaction and on-time performance year on year.”

Airlines often record losses during the winter months when demand for flights drops.

In November, easyJet reported a 9% rise in headline pre-tax profits to £665 million for the year to September 30.

Mr Jarvis said the airline is recording the strongest January sales in its history, in terms of volume and revenue.

It has sold 22% of its seats for flights departing between the start of April and the end of September, up from 21% a year earlier.

Mr Jarvis also revealed that easyJet has been in talks with tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink internet system about providing Wi-Fi on its aircraft, but “the economics aren’t quite working for us”.

He added: “We’ll keep monitoring the price and the quality of the service.

“When the time is right we’ll look to add that service, but it’s not today.”

This comes after a recent spat between Mr Musk and Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary over the issue.