WINTER losses at EasyJet have trebled, the no-frills airline divulged yesterday, as the rocketing price of oil sent its fuel bill soaring more than 40 per cent, or £67 million.
EasyJet, which put out a profit warning two months ago, sank £57.5m into the red for the six months to the end of March.
That compared with a loss of £17 million in the same period of the previous financial year.
The airline hailed its newly
acquired GB Airways operation – a former British Airways subsidiary bought earlier this year – as a "major success", making it the number one airline at Gatwick airport, with about 29 per cent of all departing flights.
The acquisition left EasyJet with £9.1m in integration costs in the first half, but the firm said the division was now fully integrated and was expected to deliver £20m in cost savings.
Andy Harrison, EasyJet's chief executive, put a gloss on the difficult trading conditions, suggesting they might send less well-capitalised rival budget airlines to the wall.
Harrison said: "The price of jet fuel has risen 35 per cent over the last three months and is now 80 per cent higher than last year.
"What is certain is that if these fuel increases are maintained many of our weaker competitors will disappear."
EasyJet, which tends to make a loss in the quieter first half of the year, offered hope that its underlying business model remained strong, with news that forward bookings for the summer were "slightly" ahead of last year.
Passenger numbers were up 13 per cent in April to 3.6 million.
It said it would do all it could to try to minimise the impact of the fuel-price pressures, although it said the second-half fuel bill would be at least £45m higher and rise by £2.5m for each $10 increase per tonne.
The airline's load factor – the measure of how well an airline fills its seats and a key underlying measure of profitability – dropped 3 per cent to 80.1 per cent due to the impact of Easter being in March.
EasyJet, Europe's second-biggest budget carrier in terms of passengers behind Ireland's Ryanair, said first-half revenues rose 24 per cent to nearly £900m.
The company said initiatives such as the checked-in baggage charge and a new "speedy boarding" option were helping drive up revenues and counter rising costs.
Harrison added: "EasyJet continues to grow in size and strength. Our load factors remain robust and our forward bookings are slightly ahead of last year."
One airline analyst said: "The latest results bear some of the scars all airlines are facing. But EasyJet does seem to have a more robust business model than most to deal with those conditions."
EasyJet shares, which have halved during the year to date, rose 2.8 per cent, or 8.5p, to 306p.
The full article contains 487 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
