British budget airline easyJet on Tuesday released a six-month update on its results, ending March 31, 2023, which showed a £120 million improvement over the corresponding period of the previous year.

The company, which said that it expects to exceed market expectations for the entirety of 2023, attributed this uptick to its network transformation efforts, improved revenue capability, and strong demand, with particularly robust booking momentum during the Easter period.

In addition, the company noted that there was continued revenue growth throughout the second quarter and that the number of passengers increased by 35 per cent year-on-year.

The revenue per seat (RPS) increased by 43 per cent year-on-year, the load factor increased by 10 percentage points year-on-year, and the ticket yield increased by 31 per cent year-on-year.

What is more, according to the report, the ancillary yield also increased by 16 per cent year-on-year, and the Easter operations were described as being strong, with around 1,600 flights per day.

Additionally, despite the negative impact of French ATC strikes, 99.8 per cent of planned flights were operated, the company explained.

In terms of the third quarter of 2022, the airline expected RPS, meaning revenue per 1000 sessions, to be approximately 20 per cent higher year-on-year.

EasyJet Holidays said that it upgraded its growth expectations to around 60 per cent year-on-year.

In terms of capacity, the second half of the year saw approximately 56 million seats, which was a 9 per cent increase year-on-year.

Third quarter capacity was around 26 million, which was a 7 per cent increase year-on-year.

During the fourth quarter, the report explained that “capacity was expected to be around pre-pandemic levels, with network capacity being 8 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels, excluding Berlin rightsizing”.

Moreover, in the report, the company stated that the headline loss before tax for the first half is expected to be between £405 and £425 million.

frankfurt airport

This result, the company explained, is despite challenges from elevated fuel prices, market-wide inflation and costs associated with building resilience into the operation ahead of summer 2023.

“Demand for easyJet’s flights and holidays has continued to grow in the half, resulting in more than a £120 million pound improvement in our performance as well as a billion-pound revenue improvement year on year,” Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said.

The airline chief said that this is further enhanced by the company’s transformed network of popular destinations and improved revenue capability.

“We see continued strong booking momentum into summer as customers prioritise spending on travel and choose airlines like easyJet offering the best value and destination mix, as well as easyJet holidays which is continuing its steep growth trajectory as the fastest growing holidays company in the UK,” Lundgren stated.

“All of this means easyJet expects to outperform full-year 2023 market expectations,” he concluded.

Global air travel continues to recover

The airline’s positive results come during a time of continued recovery for the sector, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announcing strong growth in air travel demand, based on February 2023 traffic results.

Total traffic in February 2023, which the association measures in revenue passenger kilometres, rose by 55.5 per cent, compared to February 2022. Internationally, the association noted, traffic is now at 84.9 per cent of February 2019 levels.

Furthermore, domestic traffic for February rose by 25.2 per cent compared to the previous year. Total February 2023 domestic traffic was at 97.2 per cent of the February 2019 level.

In addition, international traffic rose by 89.7 per cent compared to February 2022, with all markets recording strong growth, led once again by carriers in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Despite the uncertain economic signals, demand for air travel continues to be strong across the globe and particularly in the Asia-Pacific region,” IATA Director General said.

“The industry is now just about 15 per cent below 2019 levels of demand and that gap is narrowing each month,” he added.

Cyprus tourism sector steadily improving

In terms of Cyprus, data from Eurostat released this week showed that the Republic of Cyprus is only one of five EU countries to have seen more flights this March compared to pre-pandemic levels.

According to that data, the island had the third-largest increase in the number of flights year-on-year and the fourth-biggest compared to February 2023, with a 6.9 per cent increase.

paphos

Moreover, according to a report released on Tuesday by the state’s statistical service, Cyprus recorded a 61 per cent increase in tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period last year.

Arrivals in March alone grew by 43 per cent year-on-year, with the majority visiting the country for vacation purposes.

Additionally, 113,805 Cypriots travelled abroad in March 2023, marking an 89.9 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

The uptick in visitors was reflected in the performance of Paphos’ hotel sector, with the district’s hoteliers, through a statement released by their local association, saying that they are satisfied with the 65 per cent occupancy rate recorded during the Easter period.

According to Thanos Michaelides, head of the Paphos hoteliers association, the United Kingdom continue to be the biggest source of tourists for the district.

Michaelides concluded by saying that he expects the occupancy rate to rise to 70 per cent in May, with the UK again being the primary market, followed by smaller sources of visitors, such as Israel and Poland.