Easyjet boosted by beach holiday demand

Image source, PA

Easyjet has reported better-than-expected quarterly revenues, helped by strong demand for beach holidays.

Revenue in the three months to 30 June was lower, but the performance was not as bad as the guidance the airline had issued in May.

The revenue per seat, a key measure of airline efficiency, fell 5.4% to 拢59.08 per seat.

French air traffic control strikes and a fire at Rome Fiumicino caused 1,364 cancelled flights.

Total revenue fell 1% to 拢1.23m in the quarter but the number of passengers carried increased by 6.2% to 19.1 million.

"Our Q3 performance shows that Easyjet's strategy continues to deliver, in particular with good performance in the UK and beach routes across Europe," said Carolyn McCall, Easyjet's chief executive.

She added that Easyjet now expected to report pre-tax profits of between 拢620m and 拢660m for the year to 30 September, up from 拢581m the year before.

Flybe grows

Image source, Flybe

Separately, UK regional airline its passenger numbers had risen to 2.1 million in the three months to 30 June, up 9.8% from a year earlier.

Passenger revenues grew 1.6% to 拢147.7m

"We carried significantly more customers than the same time last year and maintained our industry-leading punctuality levels," said Saad Hammad, Flybe's chief executive officer.

The carrier also said it had made a strong start to the current quarter, with passenger revenues up 11%.