In 2020, easyJet registered its first-ever loss, forcing it to shed staff, reduce its fleet and take on new debt. Now, with strong bookings and renewed confidence within the air travel market, the Luton-based low-cost carrier (LCC) is aiming to increase winter capacity by more than 15%, having already seen the number of seats flown jump by 25% in the first half of 2023 compared with the previous year. Passenger numbers have also risen by more than 40%, to 33.1 million in the first six months of the year, versus the same period in 2022, while load factors hover around 90%.
“We optimised the network and made a step change in our revenue capability, which has and will continue to deliver,” an easyJet spokesperson told Airliner World.
“We’ve seen that the importance of travel has grown further since the pandemic and that people are protecting and prioritising their holidays. Holidays continue to be the number one priority for household discretionary spending, with families preferring to spend on their summer holiday over things like house renovations, and 45% are more likely to book with a low-cost airline than before the pandemic.”
The LCC currently operates an all-Airbus single-aisle fleet of
