London: British budget airline easyJet expressed optimism on Thursday about the upcoming summer travel season, citing strong demand for both flights and holiday packages. The carrier said current bookings are tracking ahead of last year, boosting its confidence in meeting market expectations for annual profit.
For the six months ending in March—typically a quieter period—easyJet posted a pretax loss of £394 million ($529 million). The result was in line with analyst forecasts and showed improvement when adjusted for the later timing of Easter this year.
Looking ahead, easyJet highlighted a “positive build” in demand across its flight network and its rapidly expanding holidays division. This momentum positions the airline to achieve a forecasted £703 million in pretax profit for the year, and moves it closer to its medium-term goal of £1 billion.
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easyJet’s outlook aligns with that of rival low-cost carrier Ryanair, which earlier this week reported summer bookings up 1% compared to last year. However, travel giant TUI struck a more cautious note, warning of a 1% dip in bookings and pointing to uncertainty in Germany—its largest market.
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Despite operating throughout Europe, easyJet continues to derive most of its business from the United Kingdom, which remains its largest and most important market.
