Easyjet airlines which is the biggest budget airline in the UK and also the biggest airline at Liverpool, Gatwick airport and Stansted Airport by passenger numbers, has reported a 3.6% jump in total revenue to £931 million.Seat occupancy rose to 16.6 million, an increase of 2.9%. The number of passengers ferried increased to 14.9 million, an increase of 4.1% over the numbers reported in a similar period in 2013. This comes even when the airline is experiencing increased cancellations. Easyjet cancelled 468 flights from October to December compared to 360 flights it was forced to cancel in the same period of 2013. The airline attributes this growth to its business TV adverts; the first that the airline had ever done.
The airline which predominantly reports a loss in the first half of the year and most of its profits in the 2nd half of the year, said it forecasts a pre-tax loss of £30 million down from £53 million reported last year. This, the airline attributes to favourable business conditions including stable exchange rate and the fall in fuel prices. The airline expects to reduce its fuel bill by £35 million in the first half and by £90 million for the whole year.
Carolyn McCall, the airlines CEO, said that the growth was mainly seen from leisure flights and domestic flights out of UK. The TV ad’s she says, enabled the airline sell a record breaking number of seats particularly to business travellers
The CEO said the airline had added approximately 500,000 seats from airports in which they had the pole position or were in the second position. She also hinted in the same breath that fares could come down drastically to take into effect the cheaper fuel costs being experienced. This will come as relief to its dedicated passengers who have made Easy jet their airline of choice.